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Recent Research and Commentary

Sasha Volokh on the Implications of the Louisiana Supreme Court Voucher Ruling

June 5, 2013, 5:07pm

Leonard Gilroy

Sasha Volokh has a new article on Reason.org discussing the implications of the recent Louisiana Supreme Court ruling on school vouchers, where he notes that despite solid legal footing at the federal level, voucher programs can face legal barriers based on state constitutional language.

Implications of the Louisiana Supreme Court Voucher Ruling

A Primer on Recent Developments in State and Federal School Voucher Litigation

June 4, 2013

Alexander Volokh

In May, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled 6–1, in Louisiana Federation of Teachers v. Louisiana, that a statewide school voucher plan was unconstitutional. The opinion offers a fascinating glimpse into the developing field of non-religious state challenges to school voucher programs. The moral is that, while vouchers are on solid legal ground at the federal level, they can face barriers based on language in state constitutions, sometimes because of the inclusion of religious schools but sometimes for reasons entirely unrelated to religion.

77 percent of Californians Support Jerry Brown's School Funding Plan: Here Are Three Big Ideas to Make it Better

June 4, 2013, 11:58am

Lisa Snell

Weighted Student Funding for California

Three Reasons Governor Brown’s School Funding Plan is Better than the Status Quo and Three Big Ideas to Make the Plan Even Better

May 31, 2013

Lisa Snell

Governor Brown’s school finance plan for California is a step in the right direction: it simplifies school funding, gives school districts more autonomy, and focuses new resources on disadvantaged students. But the plan would be even better if it distributed weighted funding for disadvantaged students directly to schools on a per pupil basis, authorized school principals to spend that money as they saw fit, and introduced a modern school-level financial reporting system to ensure transparency and accountability.

Lessons for Gov. Brown’s California School Finance Plan

The governor's education reforms are good steps, but need to go further

May 15, 2013

Lisa Snell

Democratic lawmakers in Colorado just approved the first major overhaul of that state’s school finance system in 20 years. Colorado is moving to a more equitable and transparent funding system with strong accountability provisions that offer valuable lessons to California lawmakers.

Gov. Brown’s recently proposed “Local Control Funding Formula” would simplify school finance, offer school districts flexibility over more than 50 previously restricted funding streams, and provide more resources for disadvantaged students. Gov. Brown deserves credit — the proposal is a very good start. It is simpler, fairer, and more transparent than the state’s current haphazard school finance system.

Yet, there are serious issues the governor’s plan fails to address, including inequities at schools within the same district and a lack of transparent reporting of funding allocations at the school level.

 

Innovators in Action 2013

How governments and agencies are using market-based policies to improve services, become more efficient and reduce costs

May 7, 2013

Leonard Gilroy

Edited by Reason Foundation's Leonard Gilroy and Harris Kenny, the Innovators in Action 2013 series profiles a range of innovators who have demonstrated leadership through action on privatization, competition, government re-invention and other market-based policy reforms designed to reduce the costs of government and deliver more value to taxpayers. Innovator interviews or self-penned articles will be added on a monthly basis throughout the year, so be sure to check back frequently for new content.

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