Opinion
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L.A. Parents Sue for NCLB Choice Options
Opinion -U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings weighed in May 1 on a federal lawsuit against two Los Angeles school districts filed in March by the Alliance for School Choice and the L.A.-based Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE). -
Maine Supreme Court Denies Public Funding for Sectarian Schools
Opinion -On April 26, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a 6-1 decision that the state is not required to publicly fund religious schools under the Town Tuitioning Program, effectively ending a 15-year legal battle over school choice. -
States Raising the Bar on High School Graduation Standards
Opinion -With a handful of states leading the way, high school graduation standards are climbing around the nation. "Today we signed into law higher graduation standards for Michigan's students," said Chuck Wilbur, senior advisor for education to Gov. -
Vermont Spends More, But Has Little to Show
Opinion -Rising real estate values and declining enrollments since 2000 have escalated rural Vermont's per-pupil spending with little to show for the expense, according to an analysis released in April. -
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Kansas Education Chief Advocates Vouchers
Opinion -Two qualities set Kansas Education Commissioner Bob Corkins apart from other states' chief school officers. One: He came to the job from outside the field of professional education. -
Parents See Bigger Problems than Math and Science
Opinion -Over the past year, several prominent education and business groups have warned American students must improve their mastery of math and science if they are to compete successfully in an increasingly globalized economy. -
Campus Murder, Lawsuit Spur Calls for School Choice in Texas
Opinion -Most of the arguments made for allowing parents to send their children to the schools of their own choosing focus on underperforming schools and missed opportunities for a bright future. School choice is seldom discussed in literal life-or-death terms. -
Renowned Performer, Pastor Sings Praises of Charter Schools
Opinion -Marvin Winans, a Grammy-winning performer as well as a pastor, never expected to be involved in operating a school or promoting alternative public schools. But he is and he loves doing it. -
Getting Through High-Stakes Tests Without High Anxiety
Opinion -This spring, many high school seniors will take a basic skills exam--either the SAT or ACT. Many younger students will face end-of-grade tests. These high-stakes testing periods can be a cause of anxiety for students ... -
Disaffected with Teaching? Think Bangalore
Opinion -Review of The Dark Side of School Reform: Teaching in the Space between Reality and Utopia by Jeffrey S. Brooks (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education) 2005, 199 pages, paperback, ISBN: 1578863058, $24.95 Available through Amazon. -
Developing a School Choice Program, from the Grassroots Up
Opinion -Editor's note: In October 2005, Virginia Walden Ford--executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice--spoke at a luncheon hosted by the Illinois School Choice Initiative, a project of The Heartland Institute, about the D.C. -
New Hampshire Senate Passes Scholarship Program
Opinion -Later this year, if the New Hampshire House agrees with a measure passed by the state Senate on January 18, students in low-income families in the Granite State could receive scholarships to attend the schools of their choice. -
Spending Increases Don’t Improve Student Achievement: Report
Opinion -On February 23, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released the 12th edition of its annual Report Card on American Education: A State-by-State Analysis, by Andrew T. LeFevre (who also contributes to School Reform News). -
Barriers to Innovation in Government-Run Schools
Opinion -Editor's note: This is the fifth installment in a seven-part series showing why charter schools do not have the freedom needed to create significant educational improvements through innovation. -
Carnegie Corporation Leads Literacy Drive
Opinion -With adolescent literacy rates flattening across the nation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York is renewing its investment in a 2002 national initiative focused on increasing teachers' abilities to teach literacy. -
Colo. May Limit Non-Classroom Spending
Opinion -Colorado voters this fall will determine the fate of a popular proposal designed to add funds to the state's school classrooms. Organized education interest groups favoring the status quo face an uphill battle to persuade voters to reject the measure. -
Maine Islanders Approve Universal School Vouchers
Opinion -In early March, the people of Swans Island, Maine, a town without a secondary school, voted to pay for their children's education with local tax funds at either public or private secondary schools, including religious schools not funded by the local -
School Choice Expanding in Three States
Opinion -Three states either created new school choice programs or expanded existing ones in late March--a trend suggesting the movement is gaining wider support among legislators. In Ohio and Utah, lawmakers gave more students access to school choice. -
Federal Tax Credit Legislation Introduced
Opinion -Three states currently have tax credit programs that give children a broader range of school choice. If a federal bill currently pending in Congress passes, the entire nation could follow their lead. The SCHOOL Act of 2005 (H.R. -
Philadelphia Gets Parents Involved in Kids’ Education
Opinion -Philadelphia school administrators' efforts to get parents more involved in the city's public schools got a shot in the arm this winter. On January 18, the Philadelphia school district announced its Parent Volunteer Program had received a $1. -
Chicago Board of Ed Approves Virtual Academy
Opinion -On January 26, the Chicago Board of Education approved the establishment of the Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS), a hybrid online school and "bricks and mortar" facility. -
Racial Integration for Colorado Charter Schools Explored
Opinion -Leaders of Colorado's school choice community walked away with plenty to think about, but no plan of action, from a January conference on the impact of school choice policies on student racial integration and segregation. -
Publishers Concerned About Google Print
Opinion -A controversy has been brewing in publishing circles about the Google Print Project, the search engine's plan to digitize the entire world's printed material in an effort to build the mother of all literary search indexes.
