The Top 10 Moments of 2011: A School Choice Retrospective

As the year comes to a close and we look toward creating even more educational options in 2012, let’s take a look back at what many are calling the banner year in school choice to see the top 10 moments in 2011:

10. Program Saved: Louisiana restored funding New Orleans’ Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program.  As special interests worked to defund this program, supporters that won’t stand for the status quo fought back, and demand for choice grows beyond the Big Easy. This vital program serves more than 1,600 low-income students stuck in failing schools.

9. Steps Forward: The Tar Heel State took a significant step toward empowering parents and giving educational options to students across North Carolina by enacting the Tax Credit for Children with Disabilities, which gives parents up to a $6,000 credit for sending their students to the school of their choice. The bill was supported by 65 percent of Democrats in the legislature. That’s not all; the state also removed its cap on charter schools!

8. A New Choice: Arizona began the year with three school choice programs, and in 2011, the Grand Canyon State created a brand new type of school choice program.  With Empowerment Scholarships Accounts (also called education savings accounts), education dollars truly follow the child in this program designed for children with special needs.

7. Progress, Progress, Progress: The Buckeye state creating a new program and expanded two existing ones this year.  Ohio created the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program named after a 2011 Champion for School Choice award recipient, quadrupled the number of Educational Choice Scholarships, and increased the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program scholarship amounts. 

6. Support from the Court: The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that scholarship tax credit programs were constitutional. Families across eight states can breathe a sigh of relief with the knowledge that their programs are safe.