Ohhh...We're Halfway There!

While most of the nation is focused on staying cool during a recording-setting heat wave, the weather isn’t the only place where records are being set.  This week marks the halfway point of the year, and it's been school choice success after success so far in 2012.

Already this year, there have been four new programs enacted in Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Hampshire—making for 31 programs nationwide, to anyone who is counting. That brings the total number of voucher programs to 16 and scholarship tax credit programs to 13. 

In fact, check out the 2012 Breakthrough Victories for Children handout, which updates the 2011-12 School Choice Yearbook published earlier this year by the Alliance for School Choice.  But in the meantime, here are some significant and fun facts on the momentum of school choice:

• Four new programs have been created in Louisiana, New Hampshire, Mississippi, and Virginia in 2012. 
• Five programs have been expanded in four states in 2012—Arizona expanded both its Individual School Tuition Organization Tax Credit and its Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program.
• Three states—the most in any year so far—have joined the family of states providing private school choice.
• Thanks to the statewide expansion of Louisiana’s Student Scholarships for Excellence Program, 380,000 children are eligible under the program.
• School choice has seen a 98.3 percent growth in number of programs in last five years and a 63.6 percent increase in the number of states offering such programs.
• In the 2011-12 legislation session, 35 chambers in 19 states passed private school choice legislation.  That’s a 40 percent increase in the number of chambers and a 35.7 percent increase in the number of states since the 2009-10 legislative session.
• Nearly one-third of states (32 percent) have enacted private school choice programs.
• Mississippi and Ohio are the only two states that have voucher programs for specific special needs—dyslexia and autism respectively.  Across the nation there are 11 programs specifically tailored for students with special needs.
• With future enrollment caps due to be lifted in places like Indiana and Racine, Wis., and with statewide expansions like in Louisiana, one million children could be eligible to participate in private school choice programs in the next few years.

Download our Yearbook and the corresponding update sheet for all the numbers.

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

School Choice Legislation Makes Headway in 2012

We’re only a quarter of the way through the year, but school choice legislation is not only making headlines, but also significant progress in state legislatures across the nation.  Here’s an update on the progress in 2012:

Arizona

Education Savings Account Expansion: The Arizona legislature passed an expansion to the states’ fourth—and the nation’s first—education savings account program.  Originally created in 2011, this program allows parents of students who are identified as having a disability 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.   House Bill 2626 increases the number of students who would qualify for ESAs by including students who attend a school or school district with a “D” or “F” rating, students of a member of the U.S. Military, and students identified as gifted. The bill now heads to Gov. Jan Brewer for her signature.

Individual School Tuition Organization Tax Credit Program Expansion: In February, Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation expanding the nation’s first scholarship tax credit program into law.  Under the expansion, donors can now donate up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples to Scholarship Tuition Organizations.  Originally created in 1997—and upheld in 2011 by the United States Supreme Court—the program today serves more than 25,000 students and receives more than $47 million in donations.  

Florida

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Expansion: Governor Scott signed legislation into law that expanded the highly-successful Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.  The legislation increased the cap on donations by $10.25 million next year, bringing the statewide donation cap to $229 million.  The bill also allows students in grades 2-5 to receive a scholarship without attending public school in the prior year. In addition, participating private schools can administer the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and the state education commissioner can suspend participating schools that demonstrate “a previous pattern of failure to comply” with state regulations.

Georgia

Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program Expansion: House Bill 181 which strengthens the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program by providing specific parent notifications of student eligibility, creating multiple enrollment dates, establishing state payment deadlines, and changing the IEP requirements for student eligibility has passed both the House and Senate.  The bill now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.  While technical in nature, this bill will allow more parents, students, and schools to participate in the program, which has grown every year.  In the 2011-12 school year, the program serves 2,965 students.

Louisiana

Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program Expansion: House Bill 976 which includes a statewide expansion of the New Orleans voucher program passed the House with bipartisan support—including ‘yes’ votes from 12 Democrats.  The program would allow children from families making less than 250 percent of the federal poverty guideline and who attend a school with a “C,” “D,” or “F” rating to qualify to receive a voucher to attend the participating private school of their parents’ choice. The legislation also creates a “parent trigger” for failing schools, expands pathways to create high-quality charter schools, and establishes a per course provider program.  The Senate Committee on Education unanimously passed the bill out of committee.  The full Senate is expected to pass the legislation.

Governors Feature Education Reform in State of the State Addresses

Tis the season! And by season we mean it’s that time of year when governors from across the country present their State of the State addresses. Year after year, these remarks always include the obligatory statements on what improvements should be made, how certain policies have been enacted, and of course, the goals for the next twelve months. 

This year, however, we’ve noticed something new creeping into the rhetoric of our nation’s executive leaders: an education reform plan. That’s right – so far sixteen governors have presented their outline for 2012 – and we’re pleased with what they have to say!

All across the country – from Arizona to Indiana – the sparks created for school choice in 2011 have created a fire in our national leaders. And they’re not afraid to take bold steps in the fight to reform America’s education system by providing more choice to parents and more opportunities to students.

Here are a few highlights from some of the recent State of the State addresses:

“Our state is a leader in allowing parents to choose a school that best meets their children’s needs.” – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

“If we continue to create a culture of excellence in our schools, Florida will merit a full chapter in that history that describes the reawakening of a mighty, prosperous nation. We can do this. And, we begin to do this by building on the successes of last session when we increased school choices for Florida’s parents.” – Florida Governor Rick Scott

“To spur innovation, I am recommending $8.7 million in supplemental grants in both the Amended budget and next year’s budget for state chartered special schools affected by the Georgia Supreme Court ruling on charter schools. These schools are key to Georgia’s educational success.” – Georgia Governor Nathan Deal

 “…Others are following Indiana. It’s our new commitment to rewarding the best teachers, liberating principals and superintendents, and providing low- and middle-income parents the same choices as their wealthier neighbors; and that’s what has caught the world’s attention.” – Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

"In America, you do not have a right to have everything your neighbor has, you do not have a right to a big house or a fancy car and you do not have a right to redistribute your neighbor's wealth. But I would suggest that we long ago decided that every kid does have a right to a quality education from an excellent teacher. And by getting a good education, kids then do have the opportunity to pursue their dreams."  – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal 

We are so pleased to see these school choice champions stand in front of their state leadership and declare that 2012 will be another successful year for families. Understanding that these Governors have a lot of priorities, we hope you’ll join us in giving them praise for giving education reform a platform in their 2012 State of the State addresses.

Stay tuned for more updates on State of the State addresses from other governors. 

What's at Stake for School Choice in 2012

We’re not too into new year’s resolutions here at School Choice Now!, but we’re always looking forward, and we’re excited about the education reform prospects in 2012.  With the breakthrough year that was 2011, which included seven new and 11 expanded private school choice programs, we’re working hard to make sure that in 2012, we can keep the momentum going.

Every state has the chance to create a publicly-funded private school choice program, but here are the states to watch in 2012:

• New Jersey: With the support of Governor Chris Christie and championed by Senator Thomas Kean, Jr. (R) and Assemblyman Angel Fuentes (D), the Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA) would create a five-year corporate tax credit scholarship program allowing low-income children stuck in failing schools to attend the school of their parents’ choice.  The post-election legislative session ends on January 9, but neither legislative chamber has voted on the OSA.  If the legislature doesn’t take up the bill in the lame duck session, we’re committed to making sure that the bill is a priority in the 2012-13 legislative session. Take a look at a video below that capture's just what's at stake in New Jersey:

• Pennsylvania: The Keystone State had a year of highs and lows in terms of educational choice.  But 2012 is another shot at creating real educational reform.  Senate Bill 1, which passed the Senate—but was not taken up in the House—created a statewide voucher program for children in the bottom five percent of Pennsylvania schools and increase funding for the state’s popular Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.  The governor supports the bill and with bipartisan support in the legislature, it’s time the two chambers work to get a bill passed.
• North Carolina: With a great first step accomplished in 2011 (the state created an individual tuition tax credit for parents of students with special needs), the state is looking to create more educational options with equal opportunity scholarships via a corporate scholarship tax credit program.