Friday, March 30, 2012

Granite State Legislature Sets Support for School Choice in Stone

House and Senate both pass legislation to create a scholarship tax credit program

South Carolina isn’t the only state passing school choice legislation this week.

The New Hampshire House yesterday overwhelmingly approved a scholarship tax credit bill by a 173-27 vote.  The Senate passed similar legislation last week with a 17-7 vote.

The School Choice Scholarship Act would create a scholarship tax credit program allowing businesses to donate money to scholarship organizations for an 85 percent tax credit.  The donated money would help students attend the private or public school of their parents’ choice.

Championed by House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, House Bill 1607 is also expected to save the state $8 million over the next two budget cycles, according to a study by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy.

In the legislation that passed the Senate, the program is capped at $3.4 million in the program’s first year and $5.1 million in the second year.  Beginning in the program’s third year, the statewide cap would increase by 25 percent in any year when donations reached 80 percent of the cap.  The House version differs slightly by limiting the statewide cap to $6.8 million in the third year.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: School Choice Legislation Passes the South Carolina House

This time last year, many South Carolina parents felt defeated after the most promising piece of school choice legislation in decades failed, by a single vote, to pass. While frustrated, these parents never gave up on the prospect of a better future for their children and, over the past few months, have written letters, held rallies, and made hundreds of calls to legislators.

Yesterday, their voices were finally, and triumphantly, heard. The South Carolina House of Representatives passed a sizeable school choice package yesterday evening by a vote of 65-49. The legislation has three components that would offer parents in the Palmetto State more educational options for their children: a tax-deduction for schooling expenses, a tax-credit scholarship program for low-income families, and a tax-credit scholarship program for students with special needs.

These three programs are a start to what could be a complete reform on the state’s education system. It’s a breath of fresh air for many parents in the state, who after years of reports listing South Carolina as one of the worst states in the nation for education, welcome such reforms.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Power of Parents Shines at D.C. Council Hearing

Nearly a dozen parents were in attendance for today's D.C. Council hearing.
 Parents, advocates, charter school administers, and students took time out of their schedules today to go to the Wilson Building, home of the D.C. City Council. 

But they weren’t there to sight-see—they were there to there to testify during a hearing on the FY2013 education budget. 

Led by Chairman Kwame Brown, who is a strong supporter of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), the hearing included testimony from charter school leaders, parents, and others in support of the District’s three-sector funding initiative—an approach where D.C. public schools, charter schools, and the highly-successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program are equally and additionally funded beyond what would originally be the case.  Congress renewed their support for the three-sector approach when it reauthorized the OSP back in April 2011.

But the most convincing testimony of all did not speak of budget shortfalls, lack of fairness, and the depressingly low educational outcomes of far too many District children (all important things, of course).  The parents who spoke told the real story. 

Sheila Jackson has been a part of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program for seven years.  Her daughter, Shawnee is thriving in her school and doing well in math—a subject in which she has always struggled.  Here is what she told the council:

Chairman Brown, council members Yvette Alexander, Marion Barry, and Muriel Bowser, thank you for your support of the Opportunity Scholarship Program.  I am grateful for this opportunity to speak before the city council today.

I am a divorced mother of two.  I have a sixteen year old daughter who is and has been a recipient of the Opportunity Scholarship for seven years.  The scholarship program has been the difference in Shawnee having to attend an underperforming schools that was not safe to her now attending a school that meets her needs and where I know she is safe.

My daughter attended DC Public School though fourth grade.  I was not pleased with the overcrowded classrooms, teachers having to share teacher aides, purchase supplies with their own money, children so unruly the police had to be frequently called because they were a threat to the rest of the student body.

I could not allow the DC Public School system to fail my daughter and I knew this if she continued in DC Public Schools that would surely be the case.  Shawnee was struggling in math and her teacher was not willing to do anything outside of her lesson plan to help my daughter.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Costs of Public and Private Education

The United States on average spends $10,591 to educate a student each year in our K-12 public education system. That number includes funding from federal, state, and local sources.  Utah has the lowest state per-pupil expenditure in the nation, spending $6,612 per pupil, while the District of Columbia spends the most, at $19,698.

Compared to public school expenditures, how much money is being spent by some of the most established school choice programs?

State
Program
Per-Pupil Expenditure
Average Scholarship in Choice Program
Florida
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship
$8,867
$4,011
Louisiana
Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program
$10,625
$4,864.08
Washington, D.C.
D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
$19,698
$9,000
Wisconsin
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program
$11,183
$6,442
 
School choice advocates have long touted the success of educational achievement and attainment among students who participate in voucher and scholarship tax credit programs.  But school choice programs also make sense fiscally.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Monday, March 26, 2012

Proposed Changes to Georgia Voucher Program Will Strengthen Opportunities for Students with Special Needs

The Georgia constitutional amendment for a charter school authorizing commission isn’t the only school choice news making headlines in the Peach State.  The state legislature is working to expand the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program, a voucher program for children with special needs.

House Bill 181 includes several changes to strengthen the the program, which helps nearly 3,000 students attend the school of their parents’ choice.  Both the House and Senate have passed the bill, but the House must vote on the amended Senate version before the legislation heads to the governor’s desk.

Here are the proposed changes to the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program included in House Bill 181:
  • Specific Parent Notification Policies: Requires stronger parent notification policies so that parents of eligible students know the educational options available to their children and be able to make the educational choice that best meets their child’s needs.  
  • Multiple Enrollment Dates: Creates three enrollment dates of August 1, October 1, and March 1 each school year so parents have the option to enroll in a school that best meets their child’s educational needs.  If a student enrolled in a participating school continues to struggle, multiple enrollment dates will allow parents to find a school that better meets their educational needs, instead of staying in an ill-fitting school for an entire year.
  • Payment Deadlines: Establishes specific dates for when tuition money must be paid to participating schools, allowing schools to better serve their students.  Specific payment deadlines will allow schools to remain in the program.  Currently, many schools do not receive payments from the state for months and have been forced to leave the program due to the financial strains.  This will allow more schools to participate and stay in the program and provide more options for kids!
  • Individual Education Program (IEP) Requirements: An erroneous rule change in 2010 required students to have an IEP for an entire school year prior to participating in the program.  House Bill 181 requires that students have an IEP at some point during the year.  This was the original intent of the law and will remove unnecessary barriers for students.  If a child attending public school is diagnosed with a learning disability and receives an IEP in October, the student would have to remain in public for another entire year before becoming eligible for the program.  This change allows students who need more options, to have access to those options in a timely manner.
Created in 2007, the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program serves 2,965 students with special needs in the 2011-12 school year.   

Though these changes are technical, they will without a doubt strengthen and streamline the program, thereby providing even more help to thousands of students across Georgia.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Candidate Training Schools: Sign Up! Make a Difference!

We’ve already told you about the Indiana Candidate Training School that’s happening tomorrow (and there’s still room, so sign up here), but we’re hearing news that our school will be coming to Georgia!

The American Federation Campaign Training Schools are a great way for Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and everyone else to learn about running for public office.  We’re not partisan here, but we do want to elect candidates who will stand for our children—and that’s on BOTH sides of the aisle.

So if you want to be named a school choice champion, or vote ‘yes’ in support of smart, accountable school choice legislation, or make a difference in thousands of children’s lives, attend this school. 

Here are the details:

Georgia Campaign Training School
Friday, April 20, 2012
Hilton Garden Inn—Atlanta Downtown
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Rhee: I'm for Choice That 'Results in Better Outcomes and Opportunities for Kids'

Here at School Choice Now!, we know former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee supports vouchers.  In fact, she even spoke at our 2011 Policy Summit on why she—as a Democrat and former chancellor of D.C. Public Schools—supports putting all educational options on the table.

Rhee also recently sat down with Education Week to discuss why she supports private school choice.  Here’s what she said:
"I believe in accountability across the board. If you're going to be having a publicly funded voucher program, then kids have to be taking standardized tests. We have to be measuring whether kids are academically better off in this private school with this voucher than they would be going to their failing neighborhood school. If they're not, they shouldn't get the voucher. ... I'm about choice only if it results in better outcomes and opportunities for kids." 
"There are a lot of people out there who sort of believe, the free market, let the free market reign, the market will correct itself—give every kid a backpack with their money in it and let them choose wherever they want to go. I don't believe in that model at all." 
"I don't think it makes sense to subsidize families who are already sending their kids to private schools, anyway, I'm not a voucher proponent in the way that some people would want me to be. ... This is not about choice for choice's sake." 
"When people talk about universal vouchers, first of all, I've never seen an economic model that actually made sense and laid that out in way that's sustainable. I haven't seen any kind of model that makes economic sense. ... My support for vouchers is around a specific group of kids." 
"But the vast majority of kids are going to be in a high-performing public school environment.  I'm a believer in public schools. I'm a public school parent. I ran a public school district."
- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Technology and Thumbs Together Advocating for the Opportunity Scholarship Act

There are many ways to show your support for school choice in New Jersey.  You can write your legislator, call your legislator, and rally with thousands of other advocates.  And now, Garden State residents can use technology and their thumbs to text their support of the Opportunity Scholarship Act.

Thanks to E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone), all supporters have to do is text the word OSANOW to 99000 and key in the number that best describes the city of residence.  And you’ve just shown your support for the OSA!

So why should we be texting for school choice?

Well, the OSA would create a tax credit scholarship program for low-income students trapped in the state's worst-performing school districts, finally giving their parents the opportunity to send them to high-quality schools.  New Jersey has a bipartisan coalition supporting this program—including Governor Chris Christie and Democratic Mayor Cory Booker.

Text your support for the OSA Today!

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Legislator Responds to 'The Record' About the Record on NJ School Choice

New Jersey Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer (D)
 "I support public schools and have been a staunch advocate for increased funding so they can better accomplish their vital goals. But public schools don’t work for everyone, and consistently failing schools work for no one."

New Jersey Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer (D) wrote an editorial in the New Jersey paper The Record on what the state's proposed Opportunity Scholarship Act will really mean for New Jersey.  In response to a March 5 editorial, which called the voucher program “flawed,” Assemblyman Schaer set the record straight on the OSA:

A coordinated and holistic approach to education in our state that includes OSA and charter schools recognizes that diverse educational models can best meet the challenge of our diverse educational needs.

State officials, as well as local decision makers and parents, should be more concerned that taxpayer dollars are being used to provide our children with an excellent education, whether they attend a public, private or parochial school.

In his response, Schaer—a primary sponsor of the bill and a member of the New Jersey General Assembly since 2006—broke down every argument The Record set for against vouchers.  As Assemblyman Schaer says, the OSAwhich would create a corporate scholarship tax credit program for kids in failing school districtsit’s all about preparing New Jersey’s children for a great future.

While The Record is concerned that tax dollars will be spent at private schools, Assemblyman Schaer points out that public money has been used across the nation to create success stories:

Tax dollars are already being used to pay for private education in New Jersey and nationally. Federal Pell Grants, the GI Bill and subsidized student loans have all been used to pay for tuition at private universities – and have all helped spur millions of success stories in America.

Schaer continues, debunking The Record’s claim that the OSA will hurt public schools:

In New Jersey, the state aid funding formula is based on a concept of “money following the student.” The amount of money districts would keep for every student who accepts a scholarship would drastically increase per-pupil spending in these districts while decreasing class sizes in the most troubled schools.
With this in mind, the assertion that OSA will hurt schools – and, thus, children – is unjustified.
In the end, Schaer focuses on what is best for our children:

But for children who suffer in these failing schools today – some of whom are being primed for a life of failure – the OSA offers a fighting chance for a future. If we can save just one child, then we’re doing the right thing.

[…]

A coordinated and holistic approach to education in our state that includes OSA and charter schools recognizes that diverse educational models can best meet the challenge of our diverse educational needs.
State officials, as well as local decision makers and parents, should be more concerned that taxpayer dollars are being used to provide our children with an excellent education, whether they attend a public, private or parochial school.

Together, our job is to ensure all New Jersey’s children are prepared for the future.

We applaud Assemblyman Schaer for defending the OSA and for standing up for children and fighting for real educational options!

- American Federation for Children  | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Monday, March 19, 2012

Newspaper Editor’s Support for Vouchers in the Bayou State

How Common Sense, Research, and Pragmatism Brought this Independent Voter to Support School Choice 

There's been much talk in recent weeks about Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s plan to expand the highly successful New Orleans voucher program to students in failing schools and low-income families throughout the state.

In recent days, some of that talk has come from the executive editor of the Houma Courier and Daily Comet.  As Keith Magill says in a recent editorial, supporting the voucher program is not about being conservative or liberal; it’s about helping kids who are not receiving a quality education.  Read below for more:

I consider myself neither conservative nor liberal, though, depending on the issue, both friends and detractors have labeled me one or the other. I have never registered with any political party, and since I was old enough, I have been a part of what has since become the fastest-growing category of American voter: independent. For me, common sense, credible research and pragmatism trump partisanship and party politics.

And the more of the former I apply to Jindal's voucher plan, the more I like it. Here are some reasons:

Meaningful change is long-overdue. For generations, Louisiana's school system has ranked among the nation's worst. It's so bad that more than two-thirds of the state's public schools are rated a C or worse. Forty-four percent are rated D or F. Locally, all but four of Lafourche's 28 public schools and all but 10 of Terrebonne's 36 are rated C or lower. Only one public school in Terrebonne and none in Lafourche earned an A in the latest rankings. Louisiana cannot continue delivering its children and young adults an education that puts them at a competitive disadvantage to their peers in almost every other state, not to mention many other countries. We owe them better.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Vote for Expansion of ESA Program Likely Next Week

Last year we brought you news of a first-of-its-kind school choice program in Arizona: education savings accounts (ESAs).  Now, the Arizona legislature is poised to vote on a bill that would expand the ESA program, thereby making thousands more children eligible to participate.

Arizona enacted its fourth school choice program and the nation’s first education savings account in April 2011. Under the program, the Empowerment Savings Account Program, students who are identified as having a disability are eligible to receive 90 percent of the per-pupil expenditure to use on a variety of educational tools, including tuition and fees, textbooks, educational therapies, and tutoring.  According to the Alliance for School Choice’s 2011-12 Yearbook, 142 families currently participate in the program. You'll recall that, back in December, we told you the story of Aaron, who is thriving because of the ESA program.

While many are inspired by stories like Aaron’s, others are more interested in protecting the educational status quo.  Special interests evensued to have the program dismantled. Thankfully, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge rejected the lawsuit, saying that “the exercise of parental choice among education options makes the program constitutional.”

Fast forward almost two months, and we're on the cusp of seeing the program expanded.  

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Parents Show Demand for Choice During New Orleans Signup

Children smile during the signup period for the New Orleans voucher program.
Today wrapped up a short but highly successful signup period for enrollment in the New Orleans voucher program for the 2012-13 school year.

Hundreds of families applied for the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence (SSEE) program, which held a four-day signup period this year that began on Friday and ends today. Some parents arrived as early as 5:30 a.m., creating a line of more than 100 families hours before the doors even opened!

The SSEE Program is gearing up for its fifth year of providing an educational options to low-income parents whose students attend failing schools. With more than 300 families applying on the first day, the sign-up period is expected to have drawn multiple thousands of interested parents.

Held at the University of New Orleans, many parents were overjoyed to be able to apply for the program, but still others were turned away because their children's school only received a “C” rating—performing poorly, but apparently not poorly enough to offer an alternative for families.

Monday, March 12, 2012

A Birthday in Utah

Carson Smith, seen here with his mother, Cheryl.
This past weekend, Utah’s school choice program turned seven!  On March 10, 2005, then-Governor Jon Huntsman signed the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship into law, creating the state’s only publicly funded private school choice program and giving parents of students with special needs a choice in their children's education.

The Carson Smith program enables students identified as disabled and who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to attend the private school of their parents’ choice.  In 2011, the legislature strengthened this program by increasing funding, allowing more children with special needs to access the program. 

Named after Carson Smith, a young boy with autism whose mother fought tirelessly for parental choice, this program is serving 635 students in the 2011-12 school year.

Carson was diagnosed with severe autism at a young age and at first attended public school like his siblings.  But soon his school suggested to Carson’s mom, Cheryl, that he attend a specialized school.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

NJ Teachers Union Uses Money, Words to Fight Against Reform

NJEA Executive Director Vincent Giordano.
Last month, the leader of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) dismissed the plight of students from low-income families. Today, the Associated Press reports another interesting bit of news about that same union: they spent more money than anyone else in New Jersey last year to block students from receiving the much-needed educated reforms they deserve.

At School Choice Now!, we stand for educational options for all students, with a particular focus on ensuring that students from low-income families have a chance to attend a school—public or private—that will give them the best chance to succeed.

NJEA Executive Director Vincent Giordano may be comfortable saying “Life’s not always fair” to families across the Garden State desperate for high-quality options, but we’re not.  And we’re pretty sure that teachers, who work tirelessly in public and private schools all across the country to educate our kids, wouldn’t take too kindly to that dismissive attitude, either.

Today's AP story reports that the NJEA spent $11.3 million lobbying in 2011.  To be specific, they spent that money fighting against a host of education reforms across the state, among them the Opportunity Scholarship Act. The bill, which would create a scholarship tax credit program that would serve children attending schools in the state's poorest-performing districts, has bipartisan support in both the State Senate and Assembly.

Let's be clearthat $11.3 million is not just tops among education groups in the state. It's more than any group has ever spent in a single year in the history of the state.

A total $10.8 million—more than 90 percentof that total was spent on advertising, a significant increase over the previous record of $6.6 million. Those ads were aimed at stopping the agenda put forth by Governor Chris Christie, which included a robust education reform package, including passing of the OSA for low-income families.  They used that money for billboards, television, radio and Internet ads, and a banner plane. Is that really the best way to spend money?

Maybe the teachers union can put that money toward better use, like helping teachers or students—two groups the union purports to represent and help.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Want to See Education Reform Enacted?


Listen to Uncle Sam: It’s Time for YOU to be a Leader in Enacts Education Reform

Political action has always been an essential part of the United States.  From the 1780s, when our constitution was debated (think: the original town halls) and ratified, to casting a vote in this week’s Super Tuesday primaries, Americans have always exercised our voice in voting.

At the same time, the U.S. Congress has a nine percent approval rating, every president in recent memory struggles to keep one step ahead of rising levels of disapproval, and we’re seeing education reform stall in states across the nation.  We’ve voted, but it’s time to do more.

In fact, you can do more!

Have you ever had an inkling to run for political office?  Maybe the state legislature, a state or local school board, mayor, or city council?  If you have, Uncle Sam wants you to attend one of the American Federation for Children's Campaign Training Schools!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Putting Politics Aside for Wisconsin Students: Representative Jason Fields (D)

Fields speaks during the 2012 Black Alliance for Educational Options
Symposium, at a lunch hosted by the American Federation for Children.
“The focus of our debate needs to be on improving educational quality - in our public schools and in our private schools. My hope in supporting the choice program has always been that families will one day be able to choose between several quality choice schools as well as high-quality public schools.”

The past year has seen Wisconsin become the nation’s hot spot for partisan fighting, with protests in the state house and harsh words and recall threats from both sides of the aisle.  But a few legislators have been able to stay above the fray. One of them is Representative Jason Fields, a Democrat in the Assembly whose district encompasses most of Milwaukee. He's crossing traditional party lines to stand up for children and build a strong bipartisan coalition in support of school choice.

“Improving quality needs to be the focus of our efforts to reform education in the state of Wisconsin…by increasing the standards we set for the institutions charged with the important responsibility of educating our children.”

Fields is a Milwaukee native and a graduate of Milwaukee Lutheran High School.  A former stock broker, financial advisor, and banker, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2004 and is serving his fourth term in office. Representing Milwaukee, Fields has stood up for multiple school choice initiatives, supporting both the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (which benefits many of the families living in his district) and the Wisconsin Special Needs Act, which is currently moving through the state legislature.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Chief of Public Schools in Chicago Supports Money "Following the Child"

"It's a matter of making sure the dollars follow children. If 500 traditional [Chicago Public Schools Students] would go to the parochial schools ... the proportional share (of dollars) should go to the school actually educating those children."
Sounds like something someone who supports school choice would say.  And that’s exactly what it is.  

According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Public Schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard spoke at the Economic Club of Chicago yesterday as part of a panel discussion that included the director of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute, the CEO of the Noble Network of Charter Schools, and the superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools.

While speaking on the panel, Brizard said he supported public dollars being used as scholarships for students to attend private school in a “money follows the child” formula.

“It doesn’t make sense [that] our parents pay taxes and then pay tuition [for their children] to go to [private] school as well,” Brizard said.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Governor Christie Brews up talk on school vouchers on MSNBC’s Morning Joe

The folks over at MSNBC's Morning Joe traveled to Fort Lee High School in New Jersey to brew up conversation on education reform in the Garden State. Among the guests was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was characteristically passionate in his discussion of school choice and education reform. He even gave a shout out to the Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA), which he—along with many Democrats—support.  In fact, he even predicted that the scholarship tax credit program would become law this year!

Christie has made education reform a centerpiece of his agenda during his first two years in office. The OSA would offer students from low-income families in the state's worst-performing school districts the chance to attend a great school via scholarships given out thanks to generous donors who would, in turn, receive a tax credit for their donation. 

But even with strong bipartisan support in both the Assembly and the Senate, the bill has yet to receive a vote. That's because the opposition to private school choice is strong and carries a great deal of influence, as the governor pointed out this morning:
[Unions] have made it very clear to me and to the legislature that [vouchers are] an unacceptable alternative and they will fight in every way they can. All vouchers of any kind: limited program, a pilot program of any kind. No chance.  That’s what they’ve said.
But don't just take Governor Christie's words for it. Read about what the head of the state's largest teachers union said himself last month.

Bringing Technology and Education Together at the AFC Policy Summit


We’ve already announced that renowned journalist andpolicy analyst Juan Williams will be speaking at our third annual National Policy Summit in May. But this week, we announced another exciting speaker who is dedicated to education reform with -- this time, with a technological edge.

Retired Intel Corporation CEO and board chairman Craig Barrett has gone from business tycoon to education advocate, working nowadays to improve education across the United States by improving technology in America’s schools.

Barrett served as chairman of the board of Intel Corporation from 2005 until 2009. Prior to his position as chairman, he served as CEO of the organization for seven years to go along with 35 years as an employee of Intel.

Since leaving Intel Corporation, Barrett has transitioned into the world of education reform, where he is president and chairman of BASIS School Inc., an Arizona-based network of seven charter schools currently operating and three slated to open in the 2012-13 school year.  Barrett also serves as chairman of Achieve, Inc., an organization dedicated to standards-based education reform efforts, and chairman of Change the Equation, a national coalition of CEOs seeking to expand literacy in science, technology, engineering, and math.

In his home state of Arizona, Barrett also is a member of the Governor’s Arizona Ready Education Council.  And Arizona is dedicated to school choice, being the home of four private school choice programs.  In fact, earlier this week, Governor Jan Brewer signed legislation increasing the amount of maximum allowabledonations to the state’s Individual School Tuition Organization Tax CreditProgram, a move that is expected to increase access to the nation’s oldest scholarship tax credit program.

To see Juan Williams, Craig Barrett, and many more at the American Federation Policy Summit, register here.  But hurry, space is limited!

The American Federation for Children National Policy Summit, School Choice Now: Breakthrough Victories for Children, will bring together the nation’s premiere policy experts, advocates, and champions of school choice to discuss the significant growth of school choice in 2011 as well as the prospects for even greater expansion in 2012. 

The summit will be held on May 3-4 in Jersey City.  For more information, visit www.AFCPolicySummit.com.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG & RMS