Take a Look at the New and Improved Alliance For School Choice Website!

If you're reading this, we take you to be at least mildly web-saavy. And if that's the case, then you'll be happy to hear the following news: our partner organization, the Alliance for School Choice, has launched a new website!

The brand-new homepage for the website of the Alliance for School Choice.

Folks who had the old address bookmarked need not worry—they're still located at the same address, at www.allianceforschoolchoice.org. But among the features included on the new site, besides a brand-new, much sleeker look and feel (as well as access to the Alliance's award-winning 2010-11 School Choice Yearbook) is some stuff we think you'll like.

They will now have constant news updates, frequently-refreshed information on Alliance work around the country, up-to-date info about current school choice programs across America, and what parents need to know about programs and how they can get their children involved.

One-Fifth of America's Chief Executives Convene for NBC Education Summit

There were many opinions under one tent (literally) at this week's Education Nation Summit, the second annual event hosted in New York City on Monday and Tuesday by the folks at NBC. It sometimes made for a few odd exchanges—like, for example, when reform-minded Michelle Rhee shared the stage with AFT President Randi Weingarten. Reason TV captured a portion of that conversation, as well as a few other highlights from the summit, in the video below:

Bureaucratic Bullying in Arizona

Earlier this year, teachers unions and the education establishment jumped on the anti-bullying bandwagon with gusto, and for good reason. The rationale behind the anti-bullying movement is rational: making sure that children and their parents are safe, secure, comfortable, and free to learn. It's hard to disagree with the sentiment, right?

But this week, the unions themselves became the bullies, in a big way.

In Arizona, the teacher-funded Arizona Education Association (AEA) and the taxpayer-funded Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) filed a lawsuit to remove more than 100 children with special needs from the private schools of their parents' choice.

What did these children with special needs do to deserve a lawsuit? Their parents decided to apply for an Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA), allowing them to tap into their own tax dollars to send their children to private schools (or other educational settings) that best meet their children's needs. ESAs are "outplacements," the process by which school district officials send children with disabilities to receive services from qualified private providers. Except with ESAs, parents—not bureaucrats—select the outplacement. And so, given their top-down mentality about educating kids, and their fear of empowered parents, the AEA and the ASBA filed suit to strip these families of their rights.

A Rare Moderate Shares Her Views on School Choice

Michelle Bernard in 2008 at the Democratic
National Convention in Denver, Colo.

Most of you probably know Michelle Bernard from her appearances on cable news, her leadership at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy, and her propensity to stick by her views even in the face of opposition from audiences in her demographic groups. Even though she sometimes get flack for it, Bernard is truly noteworthy in her ability to stay a true moderate in a time of both political parties moving to the extremes.

So, as we debrief from our time at Education Nation—for which there will be a more elaborate post tomorrow—we thought we'd show you a great video that Bernard did with Reason in the summer, in which she explains the roots of her passion in education reform and school choice, also calling for "a broader coalition of people who are dedicating themselves to school choice and comprehensive education reform."

AFC is at NBC's Education Nation in New York City!

We'll be at NBC's Education Nation event in New York today! We want to make sure you're kept abreast of all the interesting developments and discussions from folks involved in the education reform fight, so we'll be sharing what we see with you! Head on over to their website to learn more about some of the people who will be in attendance, but keep your eyes on our Twitter page throughout the day for news and updates!

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

BREAKING NEWS: Bipartisan Ohio Voucher Plan Passes Out of House Education Committee

We're excited to report some breaking news from the Buckeye State this evening. The Ohio House Education Committee passed House Bill 136—a plan that would create a statewide, means-tested voucher program—by a 12-10 vote on Wednesday night, setting the stage for the full State House to vote on the legislation this fall.

The bill calls for the creation of the Parental Choice and Taxpayer Savings (PACT) Scholarship Program, which would grant low- and middle-income Ohio students scholarships to go to private schools of their parents' choice. If enacted, Ohio would be the first state in the entire country with five school choice programs.

Our friends at School Choice Ohio were instrumental in this, the first step towards expanding educational opportunities to even more kids throughout the Buckeye State. The state is already home to the flagship EdChoice Scholarship Program, as well as three additional voucher programs helping students with autism, special needs, and low-income children in the Cleveland area, respectively.

A Shameful Comparison

There are people on both sides of the school choice divide who care passionately about kids. Some rationally think things are best done one way, while others have a different point of view—all the while, still working towards the ultimate goal of helping children.

And then there are other people, who have lost touch with reality to the detriment of everyone involved.

Folks frequently talk about the souring nature of our political discourse across the country, but this is a new one, even for us. In a recently-published letter by the Northwest Indiana Times, a citizen writes in with the shocking comparison: supporters of vouchers are like terrorists.

Yes, you read that right (and it sadly comes without any twisting of words or hyperbole on our part). Just over a week after commemorating the 10th anniversary of the most tragic terrorist attack in American history—an attack that callously took the lives of nearly 3,000 people—someone had the gall to compare a legitimate side of a policy debate to the murder of innocents for warped despicable political purposes.