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LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION National The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 19 in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, a case arising out of Missouri that could remove a major impediment to educational choice found in many state constitutions. So-called “Blaine Amendments” have restrictive language about state funds being used by religious institutions, […]
“There is no conclusive evidence that the [DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP)] affected student achievement.” This one statement, taken from a 214-page government report for which one of us (Wolf) was lead author, is often treated as the first, last and only word on the effectiveness of our nation’s only federally-sponsored private school choice program. […]
Gallup, one of the most trusted household names in national polling, recently asked Americans whether they agreed, disagreed or didn’t know enough to have an opinion about 15 of President Trump’s proposals or actions. School choice was one of the issues, and on the surface, the results weren’t all that surprising: 59 percent of Americans […]
LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION Arkansas The Arkansas House Education Committee passed SB 746, a scaled-down version of HB 1222 which previously failed to pass. SB 746 failed to pass the Arkansas House on March 31. Both bills would have created a tax credit-funded education savings account program. Learn more about both of these bills here. Florida HB 15, […]
If you build it, they will come. A memorable line, a memorable scene. But what happens if you know they’ll come, and you just can’t get it built in a timely fashion? In one of our recent reports, The Private School Landscape, we tested the theory that educational choice programs that increase access to private […]
Note: This post originally appeared on the School Choice New Hampshire blog. New Hampshire lawmakers are currently considering legislation to create an education savings account (ESA) program. ESAs allow parents to customize their child’s education using a portion of the funds that the state would have spent on their child at his or her assigned […]
Yes, Missouri is on its way to its first educational choice program! In the coming weeks, Missouri legislators will be discussing a bill that could create the nation’s first tax credit-funded education savings accounts (ESAs). Arkansas is the only other state considering a tax credit-funded ESA so far this session. This bill, if passed as […]
LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION Alabama The Alabama Senate passed SB 123, a bill sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh that would expand the tax credits available through the state’s Education Scholarship Program. The bill is currently before the House Ways and Means Education Committee. Arizona SB 1431, a bill that would expand the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to near-universal eligibility, […]
Today, the Opportunity Scholarship Program (SB 85) was introduced in the Ohio Senate. The bill, if passed as introduced, would create the Midwest’s first education savings account (ESA) program. Ohio currently has more voucher programs than any other state, and this bill would consolidate three of them: the Cleveland Scholarship Program—the nation’s second voucher program, […]
Legislators in Arkansas proposed a bill (HB 1222) to increase educational choice for families through an education savings account (ESA) program available to every child across the state. And though the previously conducted empirical studies on the financial effects of private school choice programs have found overall benefits to the state, taxpayers and individual districts, […]