Publications
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Research & Commentary: Tennessee School Vouchers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) has proposed legislation granting tuition vouchers to students who receive free or reduced-price school lunches in four of the state’s most populous counties. -
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The Leaflet – Learning From Massachusetts’ Exchange
Publication -The Leaflet -Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Leaflet, a weekly policy roundup produced for lawmakers by The Heartland Institute’s government relations department. -
Research & Commentary: Iowa Education Overhaul
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Iowa’s governor and lieutenant governor have released a preliminary blueprint for “systemic” education reforms designed to make Iowa the nation’s top education state and enable Iowans to compete better internationally. Gov. -
Research & Commentary: Iowa Education Overhaul
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Iowa’s governor and lieutenant governor have released a preliminary blueprint for “systemic” education reforms designed to make Iowa the nation’s top education state and enable Iowans to compete better internationally. Gov. -
Research & Commentary: Michigan’s ‘Right to Teach’ Legislation
Publication -Research and Commentaries -This year Michigan state lawmakers capped the amount school districts pay toward employee health care coverage (thus requiring school employees to pay part of their premiums), lengthened the time required for teachers to attain tenure, made it easier for -
Research & Commentary: Michigan School Reforms
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In September 2011, Michigan state senators introduced seven education reform bills to lift the state cap on charter schools, introduce a Parent Trigger, expand online learning, allow schools to outsource some teaching functions, and institute open public -
The ‘Parent Trigger’ in California: Some Lessons from the Experience So Far
Publication -Policy Briefs -INTRODUCTIONConceived in 2009 by liberal activists in Los Angeles as a way to work around school boards hostile to reform, California’s landmark parent empowerment law, also known as the Parent Trigger, was passed quickly by the state legislature in -
Research & Commentary: Strings-Attached NCLB Waivers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -President Barack Obama has announced his administration will grant states waivers from enforcement of the federal No Child Left Behind law, contingent on their adopting specific policy changes favored by the administration but not allowed under the -
Research & Commentary: Picking Education Winners and Losers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Recent studies of government and philanthropic funding methods have led to criticism of these entities’ lackluster ability to sponsor successful schools. -
Research & Commentary: South Dakota School Funding
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In 2006, two-thirds of South Dakota’s public school districts sued the state for more money, claiming the legislature didn’t provide enough for the system to ensure all South Dakota students receive a “free and quality education. -
Research & Commentary: School Turnarounds
Publication -Research and Commentaries -How to turn a failing school into a successful one has stumped educators and policy analysts for decades. -
Research & Commentary: Higher Education Budget Cuts
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In 2010, states cut higher education budgets by a total of $1.2 billion. In 2011, the cuts are expected to reach $5 billion. -
Research & Commentary: Reform Unionism
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As school choice and competition measures eke into the American education system, the implications are becoming clear to the nation’s three million public school teachers and the unions to which many of them belong. -
Research & Commentary: School Funding Lawsuits
Publication -Research and Commentaries -With state and local governments tightening their belts in response to falling tax revenues caused by the bad economy, school districts facing cuts are increasingly resorting to lawsuits to force governments to give them more money. -
Research & Commentary: Online Learning and Related Technology
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Online K-12 education is growing rapidly as lawmakers authorize state-run or -approved virtual education options such as single classes from myriad operators and entire virtual schools. -
Research & Commentary: Teacher Evaluations
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Taxpayers and state governments are increasingly acting on the principle that teachers should receive evaluations of their work, to measure their effectiveness and ensure better education for students. -
Research & Commentary: High-Stakes Tests and Cheating in Atlanta
Publication -Research and Commentaries -An investigative report from Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s office charges 178 Atlanta Public Schools teachers and administrators with falsifying students’ state standardized tests. -
Research and Commentary: Blaine Amendments
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Thirty-eight states have Blaine Amendments to their constitutions, which prohibit public dollars from supporting religious private schools. -
Research & Commentary: National ‘Common Core’ Curriculum Standards
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Common Core State Standards Initiative, supported and created by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, sets grade-by-grade content requirements for K–12 in English language arts and math. -
Research & Commentary: National and State Standardized Tests
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As Congress gears up to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, the largest federal law on education, and various school districts display the fruits of the act’s mandated testing, experts have begun to weigh in on the merits and disadvantages of national and -
Corrections to Fiscal Note for Taxpayers’ Savings Grants Program
Publication -Policy Briefs -Texas Representative Sid Miller introduced HB 33, the Taxpayers’ Savings Grant (TSG) program, at the start of the legislature’s 2011 Special Session. The Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) released its fiscal note on the bill on June 6. -
The Indiana School Scholarship Act (House Bill 1003): Commentary and Analysis
Publication -Policy Briefs -CLICK BELOW FOR FULL-TEXT PDFThe Indiana School Scholarship Act (ISSA), signed into law by Gov. -
Policy Tip Sheet No. 7 – Texas Taxpayers’ Savings Grants
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -Texans face the daunting challenge of balancing the state’s biannual budget. The Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Rick Perry have vowed not to increase taxes, seeking instead to control spending. -
Research & Commentary: Digital Learning
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Government budget shortfalls and the proven success of digital learning are causing many states and school districts to consider using new technology to make K-12 education more efficient.
