Policy & Law
Stay well-informed about the ever-changing landscape of policies and laws that impact choices for students, parents, and educators.
Take a great law and make it better
Oklahoma lawmakers created the most robust K-12 personal use tax credit in American history last year. It occurred to your humble author that with a couple of tweaks an Oklahoma-style credit could be productively included in the school choice mix of any state to turbo charge the choice mix, so... READ MORETribal politics, education choice, and the Constitution
As our country was being formed, states such as Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virginia adopted state religions that citizens were taxed to fund and expected...
READ MORELegendary ed choice advocate Jack Coons celebrates a milestone
Editor’s note: Our friend, John E.Coons, has been a regular contributor over the years to Step Up For Students policy blogs. Shortly after the 2021 release of his latest book,...
READ MOREThe revenge of the rubber room
An education reform era policy ended recently as New York lawmakers repealed a law that attempted to remove ineffective instructors from public school classrooms. As Kathleen Moore of the...
READ MORE70 years after Brown vs. Board, the Linda Browns of today can still be denied access
Available to All has released a new study called The Broken Promise of Brown v Board of Ed A 50-State Report on Legal Discrimination in Public School Admissions. This May...
READ MOREU.S. public education became more diverse and inclusive in 1925
A century ago, the U.S. Supreme Court landed a win for educational freedom with its ruling in Pierce v. Society of Sisters.
READ MOREFlorida legislation brings more growth, more options for state education choice scholarships
More students would be able to use scholarships at hybrid schools, scholarship programs for students with disabilities would grow more quickly to meet demand, and religious virtual schools could...
READ MOREGovernor Abbott deals a setback to the Texas district industrial lobbying complex
During the 2013 Texas legislative session, I made my way to Houston to visit one of the grand old men of Texas K-12 reform, the late/great Charles Miller. Miller...
READ MOREAmerican K-12 shortchanges kids and teachers but spaghettifies your bank account
The Reason Foundation released a new study called Public Education at a Crossroads: A Comprehensive Look at K-12 Resources and Outcomes for All 50 States. Nationwide data from...
READ MORENew NextSteps feature tracks education choice challenges
Welcome to docketED, your guide to the intersection of school choice, the courts and the constitution. If 2023 was the year of school choice for supporters, 2024 is shaping up...
READ MOREA trade in other people’s children
An episode of Paul MM Cooper’s outstanding documentary podcast series “The Fall of Civilizations” recounts the history of Carthage, which includes details of wars fought between the Carthaginians and Syracuse...
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