Arizona Families: Interested in an ESA? Find Out How to Get One This Spring!

Do you live in Arizona, or know families who do? If so, you should know that the application period for spring term Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) is now open through Nov. 15.

What's even more pressing is the fact that there will be an information session for the program tomorrow, Nov. 1, beginning at 12 p.m. pacific time in Phoenix. Here's a bit more information for those interested:

Sponsored by State Senator Rick Murphy and House Majority Whip Debbie Lesko and signed by Governor Jan Brewer last legislative session, ESAs are currently providing 75 Arizona families with the opportunity to send their children to the school of their choice. 

Parents have until Tuesday, November 15 to apply for an ESA for the spring term. For applications and more information about the accounts, parents are encouraged to visit the Arizona Department of Education’s website at http://www.azed.gov/esa/esa-spring-enrollment-information/esa-spring-enrollment-timeline/ 

An information session on the program will also be held this Tuesday, November 1, 2011 from noon – 3pm PDT at the Arizona Department of Education, located at 1535 West Jefferson, Room 417, Phoenix, AZ 85007.

Click here to get all the details about info session and the application period, click here.

Charter School Expansion Taking Shape in Wisconsin

Wisconsin had one of the most remarkable years when it came to school choice, and things aren't done for the Badger State.

Yesterday the Wisconsin Finance Committee advanced important legislation that would significantly expand charter schools across the state. Here are the details:

The legislation (SB 22/AB 51), which passed the committee on a 12-3 vote, creates a state charter school authorizing board that can approve new charter schools in Wisconsin. 

The American Federation for Children, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Milwaukee Charter School Advocates, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and Wisconsin Charter Schools Association, have advocated for the charter school expansion throughout the 2011-12 legislative session. 

“We applaud SB 22’s authors for introducing this legislation and working with community leaders on strengthening it,” said Brian Pleva of the American Federation for Children. 

The first AFC-supported amendment allows operators of high-performing charter schools that are located in school districts with otherwise low graduation rates to more easily create more high-quality public charter schools. 

“We believe that when public charter schools like Milwaukee College Preparatory School and Bruce Guadalupe Community School have already demonstrated success,” said Brian Pleva of the American Federation for Children, “the legislature should be helping them create more high-quality classrooms for students.”

You can read the full release here. We'll be sure to keep you updated as the legislation advances.

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

BREAKING NEWS: Pennsylvania Senate Passes Sweeping School Choice Expansion

About 15 minutes ago (and after over four hours of debate), the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 1, which will create a voucher program for failing schools and increase funding for the state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.

Here's a portion of our release:

The American Federation for Children—the nation’s voice for school choice—calls on the House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead and pass the plan, which is an amended version of Senate Bill 1, a proposed school choice expansion introduced earlier this year. The bill, which passed 27-22 today with bipartisan support, would grant scholarships to students in the bottom five percent of Pennsylvania schools and also increase funding for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program by $25 million next year and an additional $25 million in 2014. 

Championed by Sens. Jeffrey Piccola (R) and Anthony Williams (D), the legislation now moves onto the House for consideration. If passed in the lower chamber and signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett—who unveiled a similar education reform plan earlier this month—it would give thousands of additional Pennsylvania students the opportunity to attend the school of their parents’ choice. 

“The Senate, backed by the leadership of Sens. Williams and Piccola, has taken an important step towards greater educational equality for Pennsylvania kids,” said Betsy DeVos, chairman of AFC. “We’re grateful for their hard work, but now the responsibility rests with the House to make sure that it hasn’t been in vein.”

Read the full release here. This is great news for Pennsylvania families. Now it's on to the House!

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

PA Senate to Vote on School Choice Bill Tomorrow; Contact Your Legislators!

We have some good news out of Pennsylvania today; the Senate Education Committee passed an amendment to Senate Bill 1 that includes the provisions that Gov. Tom Corbett outlined earlier this month.

It was a 9-2 vote, with bipartisan support in favor of the measure's passage. The amendment, just like Senate Bill 1 itself, was sponsored by Sens. Jeffrey Piccola (R) and Anthony Williams (D), the bipartisan tandem that has led the school choice fight in the Pennsylvania legislature. The amendment calls for, among other things, the creation of a failing schools voucher program and an expansion of the existing Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.

We wrote about the developments earlier today, specifically calling on the full Senate to vote in favor of the plan when it's scheduled to go before the chamber. Here's what our chairman, Betsy DeVos, had to say:

Under these provisions, kids who are in the most difficult educational environments will finally have the opportunity to prosper that every child deserves. That is why it is of paramount importance to thousands of struggling Pennsylvania students that the State Senate passes the amendment to Senate Bill 1. We applaud Sens. Williams and Piccola for their efforts, and urge their colleagues to follow their lead.

But our words of encouragement aren't enough to get the legislation passed. To make sure that happens, we need the involvement of everyone, including you.

Our friends at Students First PA are mobilizing citizens across the Keystone State to let their elected officials know how important school choice is to their communities. They're reminding people to tell the Senate that children in failing schools have waited far too long—it's time to give them hope now.

Catch Up on All of Louisiana's Weekend Election Results!

It was Election Day in Louisiana this past weekend, where residents
voted on State House and Board of Education races.

[UPDATE 10/25 12:01pm EST]
The Louisiana Federation for Children (www.louisiana4children.org) is out with a new release detailing all the school choice supporters who won elections on Saturday, as well as who needs support leading up to the runoff election on Nov. 9. Check it out here.

[ORIGINAL POST]
Election Day on a Saturday? No, we're not talking about Australia or New Zealand, where it's common practice; we're talking about Louisiana!

Elections in State House of Representatives and the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) races were held this past Saturday, and many school choice supporters and opponents were defending their turf and/or looking unseat an incumbent.

Our friends over at the Louisiana Federation for Children (www.louisiana4children.org) worked through the weekend and covered what happened. Here's a quick portion of the wrap-up:

The Louisiana Federation for Children (LFC) today commended the efforts of Gov. Bobby Jindal, the GOP Victory Fund, Sen. David Vitter's Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority PAC, and the PACs of Louisiana Association of Business & Industry for their instrumental role in electing school reform supporters. 

In addition to these critical efforts, the bipartisan LFC PAC played a crucial role in dozens of legislative and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) races, supporting both Democratic and Republican candidates. These efforts combined to defeat school choice opponents and elect school choice supporters, while raising the profile of education reform and school choice throughout the state.

The full release is here. You can also read some national coverage of the elections here, here, and here.

Bruised But Not Beaten, Philadelphia Child Receives New Hope

Yesterday we read a heartbreaking story about Menduawor Comgbaye, a six-year-old in Philadelphia who was being physically abused by classmates at his public school, and the difficulties his father had in getting the school to address the harm being done to him.

Menduawor was beaten up so bad that he once had to go to the emergency room, where he was treated for abdominal injuries and his family filed a police report.

Here's an excerpt from the sad tale:

Comgbaye, interviewed at the family home, said he could not believe this was happening to his son - not in a neighborhood school, not in the United States, not after fleeing war-torn Liberia. 

As he spoke, his son came into the living room. 

"They keep beating me up," he said. "They pushed me, and I was bleeding."Comgbaye said the incidents occurred in the classroom, in the hallways, and outside the school. 

The family contacted Menduawor's teacher, who responded with a note that never received any follow up. Despite receiving assurance after an incident earlier this year that a particularly mean bully would be punished for his actions, the bully joined two accomplices in beating up Menduawor after school, the very same day the incident initially occured.

The result? Menduawor came home in worse shape than ever. A letter to the superintendent has yielded no response, and the principal failed to adequately punish the boys involved.

School Choice is the Education Reform Foster Kids Need

U.S. Sen. Mary Landreau (D-LA) was one of the legislators
involved in yesterday's town hall meeting to help foster care children.

In a town hall meeting yesterday in Florida, lawmakers sought to help foster care children excel academically by looking at a variety of education and welfare reforms. Among their considerations were ways to improve communication between federal agencies, state agencies, and local school districts. A laudable goal, certainly, but one that leaves out an important component of foster care that could pay lasting dividends, too.

The participating leaders failed to mention school choice as a viable option for children in the foster care system.

Children in foster care frequently change schools and living situations and often fall behind academically.  According to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, 25 percent of foster care children do not receive a high school diploma or GED after they age out of foster care.

That's worse than or equivalent to students in a large number of our country's struggling school districts, many of which are in the midst of having a conversation about school choice. If it can be applied to students in the public school system, kids in the foster system should have a shot at better opportunities, too.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landreau (D-LA), who participated in yesterday's town hall online from Washington, D.C., spoke about why there continue to be so many hardships facing foster kids:

It's not because they don't want to work hard, it's because if you had to move four times in elementary school and five times in high school you might fall behind as well. It's emotionally very difficult.