Opinion
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Special Literacy Opportunity Available for Schools
Opinion -The Literacy Empowerment Foundation (LEF) has increased the size of its matching grants to $10,000 per school. A school can now order $20,000 worth of books and pay only $10,000. Any purchase amount from $100 to $10,000 will be matched. -
Better Data Capabilities Increase Merit Pay Calls
Opinion -The recent progress in Nevada's teacher pay debate, toward merit-based incentives, stems from technical data improvements that can track individual student achievement over time. -
Can Political Leaders Find the Courage to Liberate Education?
Opinion -Editor's note: This is the final installment of a seven-part series showing why charter schools do not have the freedom needed to create significant educational improvements through innovation. -
Arizona Charter Makes Top 100 List
Opinion -When Newsweek released its list of the top 100 high schools in the nation May 1, a charter school in Tucson made history. -
Mo. Considers Tax Credit for Scholarships
Opinion -A plan to create tax credits for individuals and businesses that contribute money to K-12 scholarship organizations was introduced in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly this spring, where it reached the House floor with a favorable vote from -
Nevada Democrats Offer Merit Pay Plan
Opinion -Democratic political leaders in Nevada seized the reins of the state's education debate in mid-April with a bold proposal to change how teachers are paid. -
Overhauling a Broken Educational System
Opinion -Tough Love for Schools : Essays on Competition, Accountability, and Excellence Written by Frederick M. Hess Washington, DC: AEI Press, 2006 280 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0844742112, $15.75 Available through Amazon. -
Statistics Released on Second Year of D.C. Vouchers
Opinion -The official evaluation team for the D.C. voucher program released its descriptive report for the program's second year in May. -
Texas Legislators Solve the State’s School Finance Problems, At Last
Opinion -A package of five bills drafted to satisfy the November 2005 Texas Supreme Court ruling that required the state to reduce its reliance on property taxes to fund public education has received the state comptroller's certification and was signed into law -
Union Can Use Dues for Politics: Court
Opinion -A federal court decision handed down in early May threatens only a limited scope of paycheck protection legislation, a labor law analyst said. -
Vending Machine Bills Defeated in Colorado, Illinois
Opinion -A pair of proposals that would have regulated school vending machines in Colorado and Illinois were defeated April 11, meaning high-calorie snacks and drinks some call unhealthy will continue to be sold on school grounds in those states. -
What to Expect from the ExpectMore.gov Site
Opinion -If you visit ExpectMore.gov, a new Web site maintained by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), you can calculate pretty quickly that 47 Department of Education programs are not up to snuff, while 27 are working properly. -
Parents’ Anger Misplaced
Opinion -The Chicago Public Schools system and basically the inner-city has taken center stage in the media again with reports that students continue to receive passing grades while flunking tests and their futures. -
Federal Tuition Tax Credit Proposals Gather Steam on Capitol Hill
Opinion -As state tuition tax credit plans grow increasingly popular across the nation each year, the approach continues to gain steam as a vehicle for extending parental choice to families that otherwise couldn't afford it. -
School Accountability Measure Bill Passes
Opinion -The Florida legislature completed its 2006 session on May 5 with the passage of a broad voucher accountability bill, but it failed to pass a joint resolution that would have given voters an opportunity to amend the state constitution to protect current -
Database Sheds Light on Ariz. School Funding
Opinion -An April 19 analysis from the Goldwater Institute and Milton & Rose D. -
Colo. Gov. Vetoes Limits on Certification
Opinion -On March 30, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R) vetoed a bill that would have added new restrictions to the state's two-year-old alternative certification program for school principals. -
A Magical Night
Opinion -Editor's note: In October 2005, Virginia Walden Ford--executive director of D.C. -
Analysis: Dollars Should Follow Scholars into Higher Education: Study
Opinion -On March 14, the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute released a study recommending a portion of state higher education funding in Arizona go directly to students in the form of grants, rather than to public institutions as lump-sum appropriations. -
Change Brewing for New Jersey School Construction
Opinion -Change is coming in the next few months for New Jersey's Schools Construction Corporation (SCC), a troubled entity charged with overseeing the construction of educational facilities in the state's poorest districts. -
Choice Advocates Call on States to Continue Katrina Relief
Opinion -A temporary educational aid package to hurricane-displaced students has set the stage for lasting school choice expansion, a leading education advocate says, and he is being joined in that call by others. -
Education Expert Calls for Educational Freedom Day
Opinion -June 1 marks an important anniversary in the fight for school choice. On June 1, 1925, the Pierce decision of the U.S. -
Florida Parents Respond to Court’s Scholarship Program Shutdown
Opinion -In mid-April, local parents and a school choice advocacy group launched a radio advertising campaign urging Florida state Sens. -
Government’s Distrust of Innovation Disserves Children
Opinion -Editor's note: This is the sixth of a seven-part series showing why charter schools do not have the freedom needed to create significant educational improvements through innovation.
