Opinion
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Group Wants More Tutoring Oversight
Opinion -As the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) turns five years old, the tutoring industry is experiencing record growth, thanks in part to the sanctions schools face under the federal law when students fail to do well on standardized tests. -
Voucher Cap Is Lifted in Milwaukee
Opinion -School choice advocates won a major victory February 17 in Wisconsin when Gov. Jim Doyle (D) and Assembly Speaker Jim Gard (R-Peshtigo) reached a compromise in a three-year battle over raising the enrollment cap for choice schools in Milwaukee. -
Bush Budget Calls for Private School Scholarships
Opinion -Private school "Opportunity Scholarships" and beefed-up math and science instruction to spur American economic competitiveness are two key education proposals in President George W. Bush's budget for the new fiscal year beginning in October. -
Getting More from Reading with Your Child
Opinion -Everybody knows reading to kids is a good thing. But there are some ways to make it more fun and productive. National literacy expert Steve Peha, president of Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. -
A Tale of Two Tutoring Companies
Opinion -Robb Gott's Bad Ass is a tutoring service for adults and college students and is not designed for children. All tutoring for Bad Ass is done by college students for college students, in a public place. -
ALEC Endorses NCLB
Opinion -The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) hosted its annual States and Nation Policy Summit on December 7-10, 2005 in Washington, D.C. -
Arizona Gov. Reneges Again on Promise
Opinion -For the second time in two years, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has vetoed a corporate scholarship tax credit program she had previously promised to sign. -
Developing a School Choice Program, from the Grassroots Up
Opinion -Managing Editor's note: In late October of last year, Virginia Walden Ford--executive director of D.C. -
Ohio’s Charter Schools Show Promise, Study Says
Opinion -As Ohio's charter schools came under increasing criticism in the media last year, the state's General Assembly passed legislation capping at 60 the number of new charter schools to be opened in the state over the next two years. -
Scholarship Program OKed By NH Senate
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. -
Supreme Court Upholds Public Funding for Catholic School Teachers
Opinion -On January 9, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a lower court's ruling in favor of government funding for teachers in Catholic schools. -
New Study, Innovative Leaders Give Colorado A Model for Improvement
Opinion -Prompted by statewide trends it considers unacceptable, and guided by some successful exceptions, a Colorado education commission has given high schools a blueprint for improvement. -
Parents, Administrators Must Keep Watch
Opinion -Since cyber bullying is a relatively new practice for adolescents, parents and school administrators seldom know exactly when it occurs. -
Charter Schools Expose Educational Fault Lines
Opinion -Editor's note: This is the second of a seven-part series showing why charter schools do not have the freedom they need to create significant educational improvements through innovation. -
Floridians Seek to Save School Choice from Court Decision
Opinion -In response to a 5-2 vote by the Florida Supreme Court overturning the state's six-year-old Opportunity Scholarship program January 5, parents statewide are joining school choice advocacy organizations in seeking remedies to save their children's -
Milwaukee Begins to Ration School Choice
Opinion -The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) officially announced on December 27 its plan for rationing seats in the 15-year-old Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) in the 2006-07 school year. -
Hurricane Relief Bill Sets Humanitarian Example
Opinion -The Hurricane Education Recovery Act (HERA) signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 30 is the most comprehensive package of K-12 school choice yet attempted in the United States. -
Wisconsin Considering School Choice for Parents of Autistic Children
Opinion -A scholarship program in Wisconsin would allow the parents of children with autism to choose the school best suited to their children's needs and could help pave the way for school choice options for others. -
Florida Voucher Ruling Puts Programs at Risk
Opinion -The Florida Supreme Court's January 5 decision to overturn the statewide A+ Opportunity Scholarship voucher program for students in low-performing schools leaves other programs--particularly in the Sunshine State, but possibly elsewhere as well--at risk -
Illinois Set to Ban Soda and Snacks in Schools
Opinion -The Illinois State Board of Education, following the urging of Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), on December 15 began the process of banning the sale of high-fat, high-calorie foods and drinks to most of the state's elementary and middle school students. -
Cyber Bullying on the Rise Among U.S. Teens
Opinion -As school districts across the United States grapple with preventing and dealing with bullying among students, a newer and more subversive form is being employed in increasing numbers: cyber bullying. -
Study: Colorado School Violence Goes Largely Unreported
Opinion -The December 2005 release of the annual Colorado School Accountability Reports (SARs) raised concerns among analysts and legislators that school districts may be underreporting school violence and crime. -
Pioneer Institute Launches Drive for Choice in Mass.
Opinion -The people at Massachusetts' Pioneer Institute think their state has gone long enough without seriously considering school choice. On January 31, they released two pro-voucher reports--the first step in a planned three-year school choice campaign. -
Half-Million Texas Children Are Eligible for School Choice
Opinion -In mid-December, the Texas Education Agency identified 821 campuses as academically unacceptable--twice as many as in 2004--making some 538,000 students eligible for transfer to a better-performing public school of their choice.