AFC Policy Summit: Off to a Great Start!

So many people filled the room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland for the first break-out session at the AFC’s 2013 National Policy Summit that the hotel had to bring in stacks of chairs to accommodate!

What they heard from AFC’s national government affairs director Jonathan Nikkila during the first break-out session shows promising growth across the nation: states with already-established educational choice programs are growing bigger and bolder.  From coast to coast, there are 34 educational programs that have expanded to add thousands of students during the past year, thanks to increased bipartisan support.

Additionally, even legal challenges can be seen as a positive, according to Dick Komer with the Institute for School Justice, who has worked over the past year to defend programs in five states.

“This is a nice indicator of the broad interest in school choice,” Komer said.

Choice programs have so far been successfully defended from litigation in three states: Texas, Colorado, and Indiana.  Komer is hopeful pending litigation in New Hampshire will bring a victory for the state’s business tax credit program.

“School choice is no longer this crazy idea.  It’s a very serious threat [to the status quo],” Komer said, “But on your side, you have us.”

If you can’t make it to the summit, you can live stream each session by going to the AFC Policy Summit website and clicking on the “Live Stream” box.

We’ll have more updates from the summit throughout the day on our blog, Twitter, and YouTube!

Louisiana Families LOVE their scholarship school!

A recent survey conducted by the Louisiana Federation for Children and the Black Alliance for Educational Options found that an overwhelming majority – 92.5 percent of parents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their child’s scholarship school!

The direct mail survey also found that 93.6 percent of parents are happy with their child’s academic progress; 99.3 percent of parents said they feel their child is safe at their scholarship school; and 98.1 percent of parents said they feel welcome when they visit their child’s scholarship school.

This sentiment rang true as hundreds of Louisiana scholarship families and education reform advocates packed the steps outside of the Louisiana State Supreme Court in New Orleans yesterday to show their support for their educational choice.

With the mantra “put kids first!” families made their voices heard preceding a Supreme Court hearing on the constitutionality of the program’s funding mechanism.

Nearly 4,700 students are currently enrolled in the Louisiana Scholarship Program.  To qualify for the program, students must be enrolled in an underperforming or failing school and have a family income not exceeding 250 percent of the federal poverty guideline ($57,625 for a family of four).

AFC's Kevin P. Chavous firing up the crowd at the Louisiana rally

-American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice - KMS

Momentum is Building for Educational Options in Tennessee

Momentum is building in Tennessee for private school choice, as Governor Haslam's proposed private school choice bill was passed with a 9-4 vote by the House Education Committee on Tuesday.  The companion bill is set to be discussed by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, March 21. If passed, the bill would only children zoned to attend the bottom five percent of failing public schools and who qualify for free or reduced lunch to participate in the program.  The program would also be initially capped at 5,000 children, while 35,000 children are expected to be eligible for the program.

A broader private school choice proposal has been introduced that does not include the failing schools restriction.  

Students deserve to have access to the best education possible.  Let’s hope the program allows for as many children as possible to receive the education that works best for their individual learning needs.

IN House Votes to Expand Private School Choice Program

Thousands of low-income students in the Hoosier State are one step closer to receiving an education that works for their needs, thanks to moves made by the state House to approve the expansion of the state’s private school choice program.

House Bill 1003 passed the House chamber by a vote of 57-36 on Thursday.

In a press release announcing the vote, bill sponsor Rep. Bob Behning (R-91) said, “This legislation will give many Hoosier students the ability to access areas of education that are currently out of reach due to financial limitations. 

“We are telling people that, here in Indiana, our education system knows no boundaries and wants to give every student the best possible start. I firmly believe that every Hoosier student deserves the chance to learn and every parent the choice to decide what is in the best interest of their child,” continued Rep. Behning.

Some of the changes the bill makes to the current law include providing incoming kindergartners with access to the program and lightening eligibility requirements for children in military and foster families, and for special needs students.

The bill also allows family incomes of current scholarship recipients to rise above the initial limits to about $84,000 a year without jeopardizing their child’s scholarship.

According to our 2013 School Choice Yearbook data, 9,324 students received scholarships to attend the school of their choice for the 2012-13 school year.  This number was nearly 6,000 more than the number of students who took advantage of the program in its first year, which was the 2011-12 school year.

Indiana is also home to the Corporate and Individual Scholarship Tax Credit Program, which allowed 2,890 students to receive a quality education in 2012-13.

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

National School Choice Week is in Full Swing

Over 7,000 school choice supporters gathered in Phoenix, AZ on Friday to kick-off this year’s celebration – the largest event yet!  Check out some of the event’s highlights courtesy of ABC Phoenix and Univison.

Commemorating the week-long festivities, House Speaker John Boehner posted a video today to his official YouTube channel, issuing his support for parent choice. 

“Congress needs to open up the education system to include all forms of school choice, including private, charter, traditional public, and home schools,” said Speaker Boehner in the video.  “School choice has proven to boost graduation rates, improve parental satisfaction and increase student achievement.  If we restrict parents’ choices, we only harm our children’s future.”

Click below to watch Speaker Boehner’s message:



As thousands of school choice advocates, families, and students celebrate access to educational options, we’d like to highlight a few events this week, and encourage you to get involved:

• Tuesday, January 29: Kevin P. Chavous, Executive Counsel to American Federation for Children will be a featured panelist at the Nashville National School Choice Week Celebration.  Joined by WNBA star Lisa Leslie, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, and student leader Sandeep Thomas, Chavous will be moderating the discussion on the future of educational choice in Tennessee. 
• Wednesday, January 30: Thousands of families are expected to gather in Atlanta for the Georgia School Choice Celebration and Rally.  Sponsored by the Center for an Educated Georgia and the? Georgia Family Council, the event will bring together families and state legislators to celebrate the state’s school choice options and support for a quality education for all students.
• Saturday, February 2: The American Federation for Children will also be participating in a rally on Saturday in Houston, TX hosted by Families Empowered. Also, we’re proud to partner with the Institute for Justice to host a celebration for students currently enrolled in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

For more information on how you can get involved in any of these events, please contact Randan Swindler – Rswindler (at) federationforchildren.org

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

National School Choice Week kicks off TONIGHT!

The official kick-off celebration will begin at 5:30 p.m. PST in Phoenix, kicking of a 14-city whistle-stop train tour in support of educational choice. 
 
More than 7,000 families from across Arizona are expected to take part in the event, which will feature speeches from Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan, and many other educational choice advocates and students. 

The event will conclude this evening with a private concert from the Jonas Brothers.

Over 3,500 events are planned across the country in conjunction with National School Choice Week. 

Click here to find events near you!
 

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

2013: The Year of Education Choice?

While more students than ever have access to educational options this year—and you can get the full slate of numbers when our annual School Choice Yearbook is released next week—thousands more are still unable to attend the school of their choice. 

Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, recently wrote an op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, calling on lawmakers across the country to expand or grant access to choice programs being considered in their state.