Reason Foundation - Policy Areas > School Choice

In Honor of Ayn Rand's Long Legacy: Rand on Tax Credits for Education

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:14:00 EST

In honor of Rand-O-Rama (The Long Shelf Life of Ayn Rand's Legacy) and Reason's week-long tribute to Ayn Rand, I acknowledge that she was an early supporter of tax credits for education choice which has grown up into a robust school choice option for families in the United States. In a 1973 essay she wrote:

The essentials of the idea (in my version) are as follows: an individual citizen would be given tax credits for the money he spends on education, whether his own education, his children's, or any person's he wants to put through a bona fide school of his own choice (including primary, secondary, and higher education).

The upper limits of what he may spend on any one person would be equal to what it costs the government to provide a student with a comparable education (if there is a computer big enough to calculate it, including all the costs involved, local, state, and federal, the government loans, scholarships, subsidies, etc.).

If a young person's parents are too poor to pay for his education or to pay income taxes, and if he cannot find a private sponsor to finance him, the public schools would still be available to him, as they are at present--with the likelihood that these schools would be greatly improved by the relief of the pressure of overcrowding, and by the influence of a broad variety of private schools.

I want to stress that I am not an advocate of public (i.e., government-operated) schools, that I am not an advocate of the income tax, and that I am not an advocate of the government's "right" to expropriate a citizen's money or to control his spending through tax incentives. None of these phenomena would exist in a free economy. But we are living in a disastrously mixed economy, which cannot be freed overnight. And in today's context, the above proposal would be a step in the right direction.

Parents would still have to pay for education, but they would have a choice: either to send their children to free public schools and pay their taxes in full--Or to pay tuition to a private school, with money saved from their taxes.

Rand would be pleased because during the 2008-09 school year, an estimated 109,604 students benefited from seven scholarship tax credit programs operating in six states. In 2008, scholarship granting organizations received approximately $218 million in donations from generous companies and families. Scholarship tax credit programs provide smart incentives for individuals and businesses to get involved in education, ensuring that children are able to attend the schools that are right for them.

Check out RAND-O RAMA at Reason.tv!

Record Charter School Enrollment Growth in California

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:17:00 EDT

The California Charter Schools Association reports some good news for California kids and school choice in the Golden state:

88 new public charter schools opened their doors for the first time this fall, bringing the total number of California charter schools in operation to 809 schools, serving approximately 341,000 public school students.
New and existing charter schools added an estimated 56,000 new students this year, the largest single-year enrollment increase in history and equivalent to adding the entire enrollment of the ninth largest school district in the state.
While it took California’s charter school movement 13 years to reach 200,000 students (in 2005) it only took four years to surpass the 300,000 students mark.
This year also marked the first year that more than half of all new charter schools that opened this fall (45 of 88 schools) are replications of existing, successful charter school models, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has the highest number of new charter schools in the state. With 19 new charter schools, for a total of 163 in operation, LAUSD also has by far the most charter schools for a single district in the nation.
As of this fall, approximately one in every six charter schools nationwide (16 percent) operates in California. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, based in Washington, D.C., there are now more than 4,900 charter schools currently educating over 1.5 million children.

"Money Following the Child" Working in Baltimore

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:49:00 EDT

Today's Education Week reports good news from Baltimore's student-based budgeting efforts. Baltimore's Superintendent Alonso has one of the most aggressive student-based budgeting programs in the nation with close to 90 percent of resources going to principals to control through the school budget. Check out this great story about how student-based budgeting is changing the behavior of school leaders. Baltimore demonstrates how student-based budgeting can introduce real competition into public schools when the money is attached to the backs of children.

The Baltimore schools are seeing steady progress in student achievement and recently were released from 'corrective action' status by the state.

Two years ago, only 150 students attended Holabird Elementary, then a K-5 school in the southeastern corner of this city. Competition from charters and from regular public schools in nearby Baltimore County had drained families from Holabird, a chronic underperformer.

So when Andrés A. Alonso, the chief executive officer of the Baltimore city schools, began last year to allocate money to schools based on their students’ needs, Holabird stood to be hit hard. Achievement had started to rise, but its small roster put the school at risk of losing six teachers unless more students enrolled.

Principal Lindsay Krey, about to start her second year as the leader of the school, decided to knock on some doors.

“We were worried about how much we could lose, but it became a rallying point for our staff and our parents,” says Ms. Krey, now in her third year at Holabird. “We were starting to see some real progress, so our parents went door to door to tell others what was happening.”

Students in grades 3-8 in Baltimore have been making steady gains on the Maryland School Assessment.

Percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in reading:

Percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in math:

Superintendent Alonso has made rapid changes to the Baltimore school district:

Given broad latitude by the appointed school board members who hired him, Mr. Alonso has replaced roughly 40 percent of the city’s principals, eliminated more than 450 positions in the central office, shut down or overhauled failing schools, and opened a variety of schools designed to serve children at risk of dropping out.

I profile Baltimore's student-based budgeting system in the 2009 Weighted Student Formula Yearbook here.

"Stand and Deliver" High School First to be Bid to Outside Operaters in LA Unified

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:59:00 EDT

The Los Angeles Times reports the first schools to be bid out to outside bidders because of low academic performance:

Garfield High, which became nationally known as the real-life setting for the film “Stand and Deliver,” will be among the first group of local schools eligible for takeover because of persistent academic failure, a high-level district source has told The Times.

Garfield’s selection means that the nation’s second-largest school system will invite bidders — from inside and outside the district — to run the East Los Angeles campus of 4,600 students. This “request-for-proposal” process could apply to more than 250 schools under a Board of Education resolution passed in August, but the initial set of schools will number 12, sources said.

How far Garfield has fallen from the "Stand and Deliver" days:

Garfield High, which for decades has served a largely immigrant population east of downtown, reached its recent high-water mark in the 1980s, when math teacher Jaime Escalante built a famed calculus program that became the subject of a book and subsequent movie. Under his leadership, dozens of students passed the Advanced Placement calculus test every year, a rare feat even at the nation’s elite high schools.

Last year, only 5% of Garfield students tested as proficient in any math class. The school qualified for possible takeover as one of more than 250 that had consistently failed to meet federal benchmarks and thus was designated as falling into “Program Improvement” status. The board resolution applied to any school with that designation for three or more years.

Only 5 percent proficient in any math class!! Reason magazine explored the depressing untold story of what happened at Garfield High and how Jamie Escalante was forced out here.

Los Angeles School Competition Update

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:07:00 EDT

The Los Angeles Times reports that more schools in Los Angeles may be subject to the competitive bidding process after state test scores were released this week.

Thirty-nine Los Angeles schools -- a group larger than the entire Glendale school system -- identified as "failing" under federal standards became eligible Tuesday for takeover under a recent Board of Education policy.

These schools bring the number of Los Angeles Unified School District campuses eligible for takeover to 252. Bidders from inside or outside the nation's second-largest school system could submit proposals to run such schools. The bidding process also applies to 51 new schools set to open over the next four years.

Under the policy adopted last month, existing schools become eligible for takeover when they reach their third year in "Program Improvement." A school receives this label after persistently failing a federal standard, called Adequate Yearly Progress, that measures whether a school has the required percentage of proficient students. This percentage is rising sharply every year, and, as a result, more schools are annually judged as failing.

In New Orleans School Choice and Autonomy Drive School Improvement

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:33:00 EDT

In Education Week Leslie R. Jacobs and Paul Vallas argue that autonomy, budget control, and school choice drive school improvement in New Orleans.

New Orleans schools now operate under a decentralized system that is unique. Sixty percent of students attend charter schools, and both charter and noncharter schools have autonomy over staffing and budgets. All schools are schools of choice. The money follows the student, so schools receive funds based on their enrollment. There is no longer a collective bargaining agreement, nor a citywide salary schedule.

The results thus far are compelling. In the four years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, New Orleans has shown more growth in student achievement than any other district in the state. The percentage of failing schools is down significantly, and student test scores are up in every grade and subject. Some of the gains are dramatic. The 10th grade math proficiency rate has jumped from 39 percent to 58 percent, and the senior graduation rate from 79 percent to 89 percent. The percentage of 8th graders proficient in English has grown from 26 percent to 42 percent. For context, from 1999 until the state takeover in 2005, 8th grade English proficiency had improved by a meager 3 points.

For a look at several districts that are moving toward charter-like autonomy, budget control, and choice see Reason's "Weighted Student Formula Yearbook."

Parents Like Charter Schools: 2009 School Year Edition

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:43:00 EDT

The annual PDK/Gallup poll on public education shows a significant jump in public support for public charter schools—from 51 percent in 2008 to 64 percent this year.

In New Orleans a new survey by the Council for a Better Louisiana showed strong support for the system's move to charter schools, with 74 percent saying they support charter schools and 62 percent saying they would support converting more schools to charters. Already, more than half the city's public school are charters.

And in Maryland the Baltimore Sun reports that parents want more seats in charter schools:

Despite the growing number of charter schools in Maryland, 3,000 students remain on waiting lists and advocates say legislators should loosen the ties that prevent further growth and support of charters.

Some charter schools have so many students who want to go there that they could fill every seat twice, said David Miller, director of the Maryland Charter School Network.

City Neighbors Charter School in Baltimore has 198 students and 420 students on the waiting list, said Principal Mike Chalupa. "I think that we have built up a really good reputation. We provide a progressive education model in an urban environment," he said.

Los Angeles Charter School Competition: School for the Arts Smackdown Edition

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:49:00 EDT

The Los Angeles Times tells the story of two new Los Angeles schools focused on arts education:

One occupies $232 million worth of serious architecture on a promontory overlooking downtown Los Angeles. The other rents cramped space in a South L.A. church.. . .

The Los Angeles Unified school at 450 N. Grand Ave., perched across the 101 Freeway from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, was years in the making and is housed on one of the most expensive and widely praised campuses in the nation. Yet it is only now shaking off more than a year of controversy and false starts in its launch to become the flagship of the district. The Fernando Pullum Performing Arts High School at 51st Street and Broadway may have the feel of something hastily thrown together out of spare parts, but it is led by one of the city's most respected music educators and has the support of such big-name artists as Kenny Burrell, Jackson Browne, Bill Cosby and Don Cheadle.

Adding a twist to the relationship between these two fledgling schools is this: Fernando Pullum, a charter school run by the Inner City Education Foundation (and named after the music teacher who heads the foundation's arts program), doesn't plan to stay in its rented quarters for long. It has its sights on an eventual takeover of 450 N. Grand.

"When our performing arts school is doing one amazing thing after another . . . . people will say, 'Why is this school in a small church on 51st and Broadway instead of at 450 N. Grand?' " said Mike Piscal, chief executive of Inner City schools.

First, the fact that LA Unified spent $232 million on a school for the arts, without even having an arts program or students to enroll in the building goes to the district's continuing focus on style over substance. Why is the district spending this kind of money on a "Crown Jewel," while thousands of students continue to fail and suffer in low-performing schools?

In fact, other expensive flagship public schools with new and grand facilities, such as the Santee Education Complex, have not led to improvements in student achievement. Grand facilities do not guarantee any improvement in student performance. Here is hoping that the recent competition from charter schools and the potential for low-performing schools to be taken over by charters, will keep this new $232 million school from faltering.

The bottom line is that Mike Piscal from ICEF charters is waiting and watching. His organization's small charter school for the arts in the old church building is ready to buckle down and focus on some high quality arts education. The traditional LA public school for the arts with millions more in resources and facilities better watch their back.

President Obama's Speech and Civil Disobedience for School Choice

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:11:00 EDT

As President Obama told school children today "Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need ..."

Apparently not everything, because the President still has refused to support the evidence-based Washington DC Scholarship program and let 216 children who had their vouchers revoked attend higher-quality schools like where his own children attend.

As Reuters reports school-choice leaders decided that today was a good day to engage in some civil disobedience.

In a dramatic act of civil disobedience today, six national education leaders blocked the main entrance of the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to protect the endangered Washington, D.C. school voucher program. The protesters refused to leave the premises for nearly an hour, leading to a standoff with police. Apparently on orders from federal officials, no arrests were made.

The individuals blocking entrance to the building were: former Democratic D.C. Councilman Kevin P. Chavous, longtime D.C. education activist and executive director of DC Parents for School Choice Virginia Walden Ford, the Rev. Anthony Motley, Black Alliance for Educational (BAEO) Board Chair Dr. Howard Fuller, BAEO President Gerard Robinson, and education reform leader Darrell Allison.

The protesters-who sought to block the entrance of the Department because "the President and the Secretary have blocked low-income parents from accessing the schools of their parents` choice"-were cheered on by 50 families and supporters, including Councilman Marion Barry.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's School Choice

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:32:00 EDT

Over at Reason's Hit and Run, my colleague, Katherine Mangu-Ward, explains how D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty uses his status to exercise school choice for his beloved children:

So, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty pledged to send his kids to public schools four years ago, in the misguided belief that letting his kids suffer in the capital's terrible schools will somehow mean he doesn't have to address school choice as a serious policy issue.

Flash forward to 2009, and he is (a) not addressing school choice as a serious policy issue, and (b) his kids are enrolled in public schools, just like everyone else. Sort of. His neighborhood school—West Elementary, at 14th and Farragut Streets NW—isn't the greatest. Magically, his twin sons are enrolled in the much, much better Lafayette Elementary, on the far side of Rock Creek Park.

Reporters start asking questions, Fenty refuses to answer—thus indicating that he obviously did call in special favors—and then gets testy, calling family decisions about his kids' education "private." Parents across the city snort and mutter something about how nice it would be if they got to make private decisions about where their kids went to school, too.

As they say, read the whole thing.

Teachers Unions Object to Obama's Education Agenda; Invest in Obama's Healthcare Plans Instead

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:58:00 EDT

As the Associated Press reports the National Education Association pointedly criticized the Obama administration, saying the president is relying too heavily on charter schools and standardized tests in his attempt to overhaul the nation's schools.

But here's a shocker, the big education unions support Obama's health care plans and are willing to put out some cash and advertising to help out their Democratic friends. As Education Week reports:

Education organizations—including both national teachers’ unions—are putting their muscle and money behind an effort by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to revamp the nation’s health care system. . . .

The NEA remains active on other K-12 issues, but it is putting considerable resources into health care overhaul, Mr. Raabe said.

“Right now, in Congress, health care is the top issue,” he said.

For instance, the NEA is planning to spend nearly $300,000 on radio ads that will run in Nevada, the home state of Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, and the district of at least one Democratic House member, Rep. Baron P. Hill, who may face a tough re-election battle.

“Educators stand firm with Reid because he knows we need a health care plan where doctors—not bureaucrats—decide what’s best for us,” says a female voice in the Nevada ad.

Unfortunately, for individual union members who are not looking forward to nationalized healthcare, their money goes to support this agenda as well. As ever your dues dollars at work.

School Choice and More in Los Angeles

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:33:00 EDT

Lots of school reform in Los Angeles this week. Of course the big story via Education Week:

The Los Angeles board of education has agreed to open up as many as 250 schools to outside managers in a move meant to jump-start the pace of academic improvement in the nation’s second-largest school district.

In a 6-1 vote that followed a nearly four-hour debate, board members on Tuesday approved a resolution that will allow outside groups—such as charter school operators, community organizations, as well as in-house talent—to compete to operate 50 new schools set to open in the city over the next four years.

The new policy will also invite groups to take on the management task of turning around roughly 200 schools that are chronic underperformers.

And in other school reformy news, The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Unified School District has instituted a pay incentive program for high-level administrators.

The incentive pay is mandatory for two new senior administrators who report directly to Cortines. And 17 current employees have the option of joining the program, in which they could increase or lose up to 10% of their salary depending on several measures, including student test scores.

"The district is moving in a more progressive manner," said board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, who supports merit pay for all district employees. Flores Aguilar on Tuesday won support for a controversial plan that would allow charter groups and other outside operators to take over as many as 250 schools.

Los Angeles Unified School Competition Round-Up

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:49:00 EDT

Here’s a round-up about Los Angeles Unified’s board proposal to introduce competition to run new and low-performing schools and to offer more high quality choices for Los Angeles students.

The LA Times calls it L.A. Unified’s Chance for Change:

After several weeks of delay and lobbying, a resolution by board Vice President Yolie Flores Aguilar is slated for a vote. It would give outside organizations such as charter operators, unions, the mayor's office and community groups the opportunity to submit proposals for running the 50 or so new schools expected to open over the next few years. Flores Aguilar has improved her initiative in some key ways, including an expansion that also opens up the district's lowest-performing schools to outside supervision. The resolution enjoys the strong support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has championed it despite the reservations of his labor allies. Now it deserves a ringing endorsement from the board.

Education Week tells the story behind WHY Yolie Flores has chosen to champion the resolution.

Yolie Flores Aguilar, the main author of the resolution and the vice president of the school board, said she was compelled to push for a “new way” after seeing a report from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, showing that out of every 100 students enrolled in high schools in her school board district comprised of communities in southeast Los Angeles, as few as 28, and no more than 36, actually graduated. Third-grade students’ reading scores also alarmed her: less than 30 percent read at grade level.
“I didn’t know whether to scream or to cry,” said Ms. Flores Aguilar. “My frustration is at the casualness of how people have reacted to the failure of so many of our schools. “When I look at the data indicators, I think this is a 911 emergency,” she said. “I don’t understand why we aren’t stepping it up.”

A new analysis by the California Charter Schools Association finds that Los Angeles charter schools that want to run the new schools in Los Angeles have proven track records and already outperform demographically-similar district schools.

Sixteen charter school organizations currently operating 75 charter schools in Los Angeles (including several which open this fall) have publicly expressed interest in submitting proposals to open charter schools upon passage of the resolution. The Association conducted a matched comparison analysis of the performance of these 16 charter school organizations and assessed each charter school’s performance compared to the three similarly-matched district schools that students would otherwise likely attend.

The analysis revealed that 70 percent of charter schools outperformed all three of their neighborhood peers in both English-Language Arts and mathematics. Additionally, 89 percent of the charter schools in the analysis outperformed at least two of their three similarly-matched district schools in both English-Language Arts and mathematics.

Some other interesting developments in the Los Angeles school choice story include:

The Los Angeles school superintendent Ray Cortines is behind the proposal. "Mr. Cortines, who pushed for Ms. Flores Aguilar to target low-achieving schools as well as new schools, said even if the board doesn’t approve the measure, he will pursue the strategy administratively."
To date, new schools in Los Angeles have been no guarantee of improved student achievement. Ben Austin, the executive director of the Parent Revolution, a group closely affiliated with some Los Angeles charter-management organizations told Education Week: "the district’s $20 billion school construction program can’t be called a success when many of the new schools that opened in recent years sunk to the bottom academically.They literally begin to fail under federal law the day after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.”
Thousands of parents are expected to gather tomorrow in downtown Los Angeles to actively voice their support for the "Resolution for Public School Choice" between 12 PM and 2PM.

D.C. Parents' Questions for the Obama Administration on DC Voucher Program

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:23:00 EDT

Anyone?

D.C. PARENTS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE RECOMMENDED MEDIA QUESTIONS FOR WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS, 8/21/09

1. This Spring, the Administration revoked the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships for 216 low-income D.C. students. D.C. public schools start in the next two weeks. Parents, Senators and Congressmen, and the D.C. City Council have all said they want these scholarships restored. Will the Administration speak out publicly today and explain why these children should be denied scholarships?

2. President Obama often talks about parental responsibility and the importance of kids staying in school. But his actions on the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program—the federally-funded school voucher program for the District of Columbia—look hypocritical. By revoking the scholarships for 216 kids who were slated to go to private schools this fall, the Administration has virtually assured that the vast majority of those 216 kids will be sent to demonstrably failing public schools where most kids DON'T stay in school. Is this a moral issue, now that the president has pulled the rug out from under these families, or is this just being viewed through a political lens at the White House?

3. A think tank that supports many of the President’s education proposals has said it was “morally wrong” to revoke the scholarships for the D.C. 216. So, is there any moral dilemma going on within the administration right now regarding these low-income D.C. families and their inability to participate in the scholarship program? After spending $3 billion on “cash for clunkers” vouchers and with a new $5 billion discretionary fund at Secretary Duncan's disposal, isn't there a disconnect? Is the Administration saying to these children that they have to wait years for the system to improve?

4. Senator Lieberman, Senator Feinstein and a handful of other senators from both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation to extend the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. The D.C. school voucher program—whether the Administration likes vouchers or not—has gotten strong reviews from independent evaluators. Given that the Administration has said they’ll “fund what works, regardless of ideology,” would the President plan on signing this bill?

5. The Administration has refused to make ANY public comment on the Opportunity Scholarship Program. The President is a product of private school scholarships. The Secretary has stated publicly that he enrolled his children in higher-quality Arlington schools. Why should the Opportunity Scholarship Program be limited to existing children only? What about their siblings? Given the silence from the administration, even as parents are protesting outside of the Department of Education, is it safe to say the administration is just waiting these parents out and ignoring them in hopes they’ll go away? If so, isn’t this a bit unfair?

Special Education Vouchers Reduce Special Education Label

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:02:00 EDT

Financial incentives matter.

A new study by Jay P. Greene and Marcus Winters released this week by the Manhattan Institute shows that offering disabled students special education vouchers reduces the likelihood that public schools will identify students as disabled.

The reason special education vouchers restrained growth in disabilities, rather than exacerbate it, is that the vouchers check public schools’ financial incentives to identify more students as disabled. Public schools may get additional subsidies when they shift more students into special education, but if they then make students eligible for special education vouchers, they risk having those students walk out the door with all of their funding. It makes the public schools think twice before over-identifying disabilities for financial reasons. . . .

Nearly 1 in 7 students nationwide is now classified as having a disability. That’s 63% more than three decades ago. It’s clear that this huge increase in disabilities was not caused by a true increase in the incidence of disabilities in the population. No plague has afflicted our children over the last three decades to disable two-thirds more of them.

I wrote about the special education over-identification problem for Reason here.

Rose Friedman, R.I.P.--The Friedmans Left Families a Real School Choice Legacy

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:00:00 EDT

My colleague Brian Doherty offers an eloquent tribute to Rose Friedman and her contributions to liberty. He notes the role that the ideas and accomplishments of the Friedmans played in:

helping make America a place that is in some respects actually freer, and in most respects an intellectual environment where the idea of human liberty has wider play than it did before they did their long, arduous work of explaining the benefits of liberty, often against great opposition.

School choice is certainly one of those ideas that has much wider play despite great opposition. In remembering Rose Friedman, it is a perfect time to reflect on just how much progress has been made toward the 50-year old voucher idea to offer parents real education choice.

The greatest tribute to Rose and Milton Friedman is that school choice is no longer rare or controversial. Every year it becomes more the rule than the exception:

The Supreme Court validated the Friedman's voucher idea in 2002.
More parents than ever report having more school choice. For example, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that more than 50 percent of parents report that they have a school choice other than their residential school assignment.
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice reports on 26 school choice programs in 16 states.
More than 16 school districts have attached funding to the backs of children and ditched residential assignment for district-wide choice through student-based budgeting.
Developing a school choice program and strategy is common practice for most school districts in the United States.
Not to mention more than 4,000 charter schools, with funding attached to the backs of 1.8 million children.
In larger numbers, low-performing schools are being closed and replaced with school-of- choice options.

The bottom line is that millions of children have the Friedmans to thank for a higher quality education. The Friedmans have helped to make school choice a reality and that legacy will live on as even more families continue to have a larger number of higher-quality educational opportunities for their children.

Rest in Peace, Rose.

Texas State Education Commissioner Calls for a Ban on Hiring High School Dropouts

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:28:00 EDT

Via the Education Gadfly:

As if high school students were not miserable enough. . .

When criticized about inflated graduation rates, the Texas education commissioner Robert Cook calls for a ban on hiring high school dropouts.

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott said businesses in Texas should quit hiring school-age dropouts to force those teenagers to either remain in school or continue their education elsewhere, such as through an online program.

"We need a commitment from businesses in this state to not hire kids who have dropped out of school," the commissioner said, contending that such an employment ban would go a long way in curbing the state's high dropout rate.

So let's get this straight; instead of offering more choices and more high-quality high school options or finding constructive ways to keep kids in school in the first place, let's create a larger group of unemployed high school dropouts on the hope that this will be an incentive for them to return to school.

Once again high school just looks like prison. A ban on hiring felons and high school dropouts.

Los Angeles Drop Out Rate is Good News and Very Bad News

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:21:00 EDT

In the LA Unified School District the dropout rate fell by 17 percent.

This is good news overall. However, 16,000 students who were counted as dropouts last year were duplications.

In addition, several individual schools continue to have dropout rates approaching 50 percent. These schools should not be open.

As the Los Angeles Times reported, "Jefferson High had an improved but still poor graduation rate of 48.6%. Ditto for the Santee Educational Complex, with a dropout rate of 41.2%."

When the Los Angeles school board revisits a proposal that would allow charter operators and other outside groups to bid for control of 50 new schools scheduled to open over the next four years, the students that attend these schools with high dropout rates should be first in line to attend new schools.

The Los Angeles school board should resist union opposition and remember the kids that attend high schools with 50 percent dropout rates. The board should allow outside operators to open new schools and let kids in failing schools have priority to attend the new schools.

Bipartisan Effort in U.S. Senate to Save D.C. Voucher Program

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:01:00 EDT

Senators Joe Lieberman, along with Senators Susan Collins, Dianne Feinstein, and Robert Byrd introduced legislation this morning to reauthorize and strengthen the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) for five years.

Via the Alliance for School Choice press release:

Under Senator Lieberman’s bill, the program would be preserved and strengthened significantly. The Lieberman bill would increase scholarship amounts to $9,000 for K-8 students and $11,000 for high school students—indexing the scholarship amounts to inflation. While these amounts remain significantly below the amounts for the D.C. Public Schools, they provide the necessary increases to account for inflation over the past five years.

The bill would also:

--Give scholarship priority to siblings of students who currently participate in the program

--Require participating schools to have a valid certificate of occupancy

--Require teachers of core subject matters to have bachelor’s degrees

--Require an Institute of Education Sciences annual evaluation of the program

--Require students to take nationally norm-referenced tests

I wrote about Democrats for school choice here.

My colleague Shikha Dalmia wrote about President Obama's hypocrisy for not supporting the successful program in here.

Listen Mr. President! D.C. Residents Want School Vouchers

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:10:00 EDT

The residents of Washington D.C. know what the schools are really like. Unlike the President, their children have to actually attend many of D.C'.s lowest performing schools.

A recent review by D.C. Children First found that nine out of ten students who did not receive a school scholarship this year were assigned to failing public schools.

Therefore, it is not a huge surprise that D.C. residents have expressed support for the D.C. voucher program.

A new poll found that 75 percent of District residents support the city’s federally funded school voucher program. Widespread support for the program crossed party lines—with 74 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Independents backing the program—and extends across each of the District’s eight wards.

In addition, 56 percent of residents indicated that they believed that there should be more scholarships for low-income students, and 68 percent of residents oppose Congress’ effort to end the program.

Reason.tv looked at what the D.C. voucher program meant to local families here.

Mayor Villaraigosa Calls for Competition for Los Angeles Schools

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:51:00 EDT

Perhaps an indication of how far the school choice debate has moved in the last decade. Perhaps a bellwether for how things are changing in a positive direction away from the public school status quo.

In the Los Angeles Times, Mayor Villaraigosa makes the case for bidding out new Los Angeles schools to school organizations outside of Los Angeles Unified.

For too long, leaders at every level of government have defended a status quo that serves the interests of adults more than children; that gives bureaucrats a near monopoly over public education; that shuts parents out of the conversation; and that, over and over, fails our kids.

It's time to get past the gatekeepers and stop preserving a system defined by low performance, low standards and low expectations. It's time to embrace new ideas and reclaim concepts such as accountability and competition, and it's time to admit the need for more than one educational choice. Put simply, it's time to put students first.

On Aug. 25, the Los Angeles Board of Education will have the opportunity to take the first real step toward reforming our broken system and transforming our schools. Board member Yolie Flores Aguilar has proposed a measure that would fundamentally change the way we run our schools, giving organizations outside the Los Angeles Unified School District--charter school groups, teacher collaboratives and others -- the chance to compete to operate new campuses set to open in fall 2010.

Most significant line by the Mayor:

I recognize that these changes won't come easily. I know that the voices of dissent -- the individuals and institutions that rely on and benefit from the status quo -- will try to drown out the calls for reform. But we cannot place the same old failing school system into brand new buildings and expect different results.

Please Go To Bed, Dear Lawmakers

shikha.dalmia@reason.org (Shikha Dalmia) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:23:00 EDT

This little item from my daily Congressional bulletin caught my eye this morning:

"TUESDAY'S LATE GAMES. The House Appropriations Committee was busy late into Tuesday night and early this morning, wrapping up action on a pair of spending bills. The committee approved a $24.2 billion Financial Services funding bill for FY10 after rejecting Republican bids to provide full funding for a District of Columbia education voucher program and to retain laws restricting abortions and barring the medical use of marijuana in the capital...."

So Democrats were up late to screw over minority kids trapped in D.C.'s hope-killing public schools by scrapping the little pittance -- $14 million - that funds a federal voucher program. (My column on that here). And Republicans were up late trying to scrap our right to control our bodies.

Now here's a taxpayer funded program that I'd support: Free Nytols for all elected officials to put them to bed early!

The Great Charter School Debate: Final Round

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:58:00 EDT

In the final installment of the Great Charter School debate the Los Angeles Times asks:

Are charters a drain on traditional public schools?
Is it really a bad thing that charters put pressure on low-performing public schools? Lisa Snell and Ralph E. Shaffer finish their debate.

Here's a snippet of my answer:

Charter schools should not be viewed as a fiscal drain on school districts. Instead, they should be viewed as high-quality public schools that offer parents more options and raise school districts' overall quality. Districts should embrace higher-performing charter schools and work to replicate and imitate these schools, which are adding value to their students' education.

Look at Los Angeles and Oakland, where charter schools have had a positive effect on public education. In Los Angeles, more than 70% of charter schools outperform their nearby district schools. Ten of Los Angeles' 12 recently recognized California Distinguished Schools are charter schools. Statewide, 12 of the 15 highest-performing public schools serving low-income students are charter schools. Similarly, in Oakland, the highest-performing schools are charters that have raised achievement for disadvantaged students.

Are Charters a Drain on Traditional Public Schools?

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Los Angeles Times

LATimes Dust-Up Asks: Is it really a bad thing that charters put pressure on low-performing public schools? Lisa Snell and Ralph E. Shaffer finish their debate. To read Shaffer's response, go here.

Ralph, charter schools are the way to go. In a March speech on education policy, President Obama championed charter schools, praising their innovation and urging states to lift caps on their growth. Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have called for doubling the number of charter schools across the country. They want high-quality charter schools with proven track records to replace lower-performing schools.

Many urban school leaders in such places as Philadelphia, Newark and Oakland are embracing charters and developing specific plans to close low-performing schools and replicate high-quality charters. For example, the current issue of the Economist reports that, in Newark, 17 schools run by 12 charter-management groups teach almost 10% of the 48,000 children the city's school system and that these numbers will soon double. Similarly, Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman has called for replacing 45 low-performing schools with higher-quality charter schools. School leaders have called for an expansion of charter schools because the evidence demonstrates that these schools are improving outcomes for the most disadvantaged and lowest-performing students.

Charter schools should not be viewed as a fiscal drain on school districts. Instead, they should be viewed as high-quality public schools that offer parents more options and raise school districts' overall quality. Districts should embrace higher-performing charter schools and work to replicate and imitate these schools, which are adding value to their students' education.

Look at Los Angeles and Oakland, where charter schools have had a positive effect on public education. In Los Angeles, more than 70% of charter schools outperform their nearby district schools. Ten of Los Angeles' 12 recently recognized California Distinguished Schools are charter schools. Statewide, 12 of the 15 highest-performing public schools serving low-income students are charter schools. Similarly, in Oakland, the highest-performing schools are charters that have raised achievement for disadvantaged students.

In addition, these charter schools are improving performance for middle- and high school students where traditional public schools have often made the least progress. A recent study by the California Charter Schools Assn. found that the gains made in Oakland charters were most pronounced among middle- and high school students, and that these gains are increasing over time. Similarly, the March 2009 Rand Corp. study on charter schools in eight states found that charter students are more likely than traditional public school students to graduate high school and enroll in college.

The evidence that charters outperform district schools is coming in from across the nation. In New Orleans, where more than 55% of students are enrolled in charters, these schools continue to post faster achievement gains in reading and math for disadvantaged students. In Boston, a 2009 study conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that Massachusetts charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools in both math and English.

In California, there is a strong demand from parents for more charter schools. In 2008, charter school enrollment in Los Angeles increased by 8,000 students, and many campuses have long waiting lists. The California Charter Schools Assn. reports that the number of charter schools would need to triple to accommodate all of the students currently on waiting lists in California.

Parents are desperate for more high-quality education options. Charter schools are not a fiscal drain on districts. They are public schools with impressive track records that should be viewed as a legitimate part of a high-performing public school system.

Lisa Snell is director of education at Reason Foundation. This article was first published as part of an LATimes.com Dust-Up “The Great Charter School Debate.”

The Great Charter School Debate Continued

lisa.snell@reason.org (Lisa Snell) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:39:00 EDT

In the second installment of the "Great Charter School Debate" the Los Angeles Times asks:

Who do charters educate?
Are they taking their fair share of special-ed and English-language learners?

A snippet of my counterpoint:

There is little evidence that charter schools are succeeding because they are educating higher-performing students. A March 2009 Rand Corp. study, "Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition," examined charters in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Diego and the states of Florida, Ohio and Texas. It found that charter schools do not "skim" the top students away from traditional public schools. In fact, in many locations, students transferring to charter schools have below-average test scores. In addition, the Rand study found that charter transfers had surprisingly little effect on racial distributions of students. Typically, students transferring to charter schools moved to schools with racial distributions similar to those of the traditional public schools from which they came.

This is also true in Oakland. According to the Oakland Unified School District's annual scorecard, overall charter enrollment in Oakland includes a higher percentage of both English-learners and Latino students. About 51% of the students enrolled in Oakland charter schools are Latino, and about 30% are English-learners; at district-run schools, about 34% of the students are Latino, and about 29% are English-learners. On average, English-learners in Oakland charters outperformed those in Oakland's traditional public schools, 679 to 644, on the state's Academic Performance Index in 2008.