Opinion
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Home Schools Remedy Public School Woes, New Book Says
Opinion -Review of Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie to Parents and Betray Our Children by Joel Turtel New York: Liberty Books, 2005, 387 pages, ISBN 0-9645693-2-9, $17.95 "[T]ake their future into your hands, now. -
Illinois Budget Shortchanges Teacher Pensions
Opinion -The FY 2006 Illinois budget, which passed in May, includes a $314 million increase in funding for K-12 education, bringing the guaranteed per-pupil expenditure to $5,164. -
La. Lawmakers OK 65 Percent Education Funding Measure
Opinion -On June 9, the Louisiana Senate passed a measure directing the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to require every school district in the state to spend 65 percent of its education budget on classroom instruction. -
Model Scholarship Legislation for Preschool, Pre-K Adopted by ALEC
Opinion -In keeping with a growing trend among state legislatures to offer pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten programs, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) approved the Smart Start Scholarship Program as model legislation this May. -
New Chicago High School to Split Voc-Ed, College Prep Students
Opinion -Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (D) announced a controversial plan in April to build the first new public high school on the city's west side in 29 years--and splitting its 1,200 students evenly between a selective-enrollment college prep school and a -
Paige, Petrilli Join Fordham Foundation
Opinion -The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a Washington, DC-based education research organization, gained two education experts formerly with the U.S. Department of Education this spring. Rod Paige, U.S. secretary of education during President George W. -
School Choice: Past, Present, and Future
Opinion -Editor's note: Robert Enlow, executive director of the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation, delivered these remarks at the 2004 Emerging Issues Forum in Chicago. -
School Officials Sue to Stop Equal Funding for Md. Charters
Opinion -A decision this May by the Maryland State Board of Education to give charter schools throughout the state the same funding as other public schools has sparked a federal lawsuit. -
Tax Credit Program Could Save New Mexico Millions
Opinion -Providing students with scholarships financed by tuition tax credits could save New Mexico more than $42 million in 10 years, according to a study released April 28. -
Texas Governor Calls for Financial Accountability, Takeovers of Failing Schools
Opinion -On May 18, while the Texas legislature was working on the details of a school finance bill, Gov. Rick Perry (R) addressed more than 300 educators and activists at the Texas Public Education Foundation's Education Summit. -
Texas House Thwarts Voucher Bill
Opinion -A proposal to create a statewide school voucher program was shelved in the Texas House of Representatives May 23 after five hours of heated debate, effectively ending any chance of giving Lone Star State students full school choice until the next -
Vermont Considers Preschool Programs in Public Schools
Opinion -School choice supporters in Vermont scrambled to shore up support for private preschool providers in early June, trying to keep the state Senate from overriding the governor's veto of a budget bill when it convenes later this summer. -
The Light of Education
Opinion -There wasn't much money or structure in Faye Capers' home life while she was growing up in the projects of Texarkana, Texas in the 1950s. Both her parents were alcoholics, and they didn't have a high school education between them. -
Violence in Public Schools: A Dirty Secret
Opinion -In March, the public was startled by the news of a horrific shooting spree in Red Lake, Minnesota, where 16-year-old Jeff Wiese killed seven people and wounded at least 13 others at Red Lake High School before taking his own life--the deadliest school -
New Source for School Choice Information Launched
Opinion -A new clearinghouse is offering legislators, activists, and parents online information about ongoing school choice policy debates raging throughout the country. -
Hispanic Parents Rally for School Choice in Texas
Opinion -On April 5, the Texas State Capitol in Austin served as a school choice forum for several hundred Hispanic parents, gathered there in a show of strength for the movement and to testify on behalf of three bills being debated in the state House of -
Ohio House OKs Statewide Voucher Plan
Opinion -Building on the success of the 10-year-old Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, the Ohio House of Representatives on April 12 approved legislation to create a new statewide scholarship program. -
Parents Pummeled by South Carolina Legislators
Opinion -Democratic legislators in South Carolina slapped high-fives outside the state House of Representatives chamber May 4, celebrating a 60-53 vote to table a bill proposing tax credits and vouchers to give parents choices on where to send their children to -
Sparks Fly over Revelations of Scandals in Head Start Program
Opinion -Head Start or "No Start"? It's been more of the latter in recent years on Capitol Hill, at least in the sense of being able to muster bipartisan agreement on terms for Head Start's reauthorization. -
More than 1,000 Celebrate Fourth Anniversary of Pennsylvania Tax Credit
Opinion -On what turned out to be a stunningly beautiful day, more than 1,000 parents and children joined state legislators at Pennsylvania’s Capitol in Harrisburg on May 10 to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the state’s landmark Educational Improvement Tax -
Maine, Florida Poised for Rulings on School Choice
Opinion -Eight Maine families are awaiting a written opinion from the state supreme court following their latest school choice appeal, argued on March 24. -
New Jersey, Maryland Need School Choice, Studies Show
Opinion -If high per-pupil spending and widespread underachievement are two of the qualities that make a school system an ideal testing ground for vouchers, then Paterson, New Jersey and Baltimore, Maryland are two prime candidates, according to a pair of -
Corruption Is Rampant in Public Schools
Opinion -A new study by the Cato Institute takes an in-depth look at allegations of corruption and abuse of assets in the nation's public schools, a system built upon the expectation of public accountability. -
Veto Limits Growth of Milwaukee Voucher Program
Opinion -Just two days after one of the nation's oldest voucher programs celebrated a milestone anniversary, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) vetoed a bill to lift its 15,000-student enrollment cap, placing the program's future in jeopardy.
