With a growing number of school choice programs comes a growing body of research on how educational opportunity benefits students. These benefits manifest themselves in outcomes such as higher graduation rates, increased academic achievement, and higher levels of parent satisfaction with their children’s schools. Students in school choice programs graduate at significantly higher rates than their public school peers. A 2010 gold-standard evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP)—a voucher program for low-income children in Washington, D.C.—revealed that over 90 percent of DCOSP students graduated from high school, compared to just …
Florida’s Medicaid Reform Pilot is pro-patient and pro-taxpayer, and the Obama Administration agrees. In original research published by The Heritage Foundation and also submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) during the agency’s deliberations, I showed that the program’s patients are healthier and happier with their care and that Florida taxpayers saved more than $100 million each year of the program. The Florida reforms work by giving patients a choice of the private health plan that works best for them. Enrollees can choose from plans with varied …
As the fight continues against the one-size-fits-all changes enacted under Obamacare, some states continue to work on health care reform specific to the needs of their residents. Florida is one such state. Its Medicaid Reform Pilot passed with bipartisan support in 2005 and has been implemented in five counties over the last five years. It has been a remarkable success, shifting a failing government health program away from the status quo of top-down micromanagement toward consumer-driven, patient-centered care. In a detailed analysis written for The Heritage Foundation, Tarren Bragdon, CEO …
The disheartening impact of Obamacare has solidified doubt and resistance surrounding federal health reform. It will burden small businesses and dump millions more into the failing Medicaid program. As a result, states are increasingly using their authority to implement health-care reforms tailored to their citizens. Gov. Paul LePage of Maine is leading the way in the fight against government-run health care. Today he visits Heritage to share his insights on the issue. The event will be broadcast live online at 2 p.m., followed by an expert panel, including Florida state Rep. …
As individuals and families around the nation celebrated Independence Day and the blessings of freedom and opportunity as American citizens, families are also celebrating the advance of educational freedom across the country. As the lead editorial in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal notes, 2011 has been “the year of school choice.” Since January, new school choice programs have been enacted in 13 states, and legislation is pending in 28 more. In May, Indiana implemented the largest school choice program in the nation’s history. Arizona put into place perhaps the most innovative …
Florida, already an education reform leader, took further steps this week to expand educational opportunity and provide more school choice for families. Governor Rick Scott (R), who on Monday signed five bills to broaden educational opportunities for K–12 students, remarked: “Everything we can do to encourage more choice, we should be doing it.” And Governor Scott is serious about expanding options. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Scott’s bills increase students’ options in a variety of ways, providing more choice between charter, public, virtual, and private schools. Charter School Choice. High-performing …
We’ve all heard of the fashion police but probably assumed that was just a figure of speech. It turns out, however, that if you don’t have the bureaucratic blessing of a license and yet deign to select drapes, recommend paintings, or (horrors!) place Persian rugs and decorative partitions for a non-residence in Florida, you could be sent to prison for up to one year. Further, if you hire a person without a license to do these things for you, both of you could be sent to prison for up to …
Florida is widely recognized as the state leader in education reform. Students in the Sunshine State have made the strongest academic achievement gains in the nation since 2003, and they are one of the only states that have been able to narrow the achievement gap between white and minority students. Yesterday, the Washington Post highlighted the Florida model, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s role in its creation: “The president who turned No Child Left Behind from slogan into statute is gone from Washington, and the influence of his signature …
Last week, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) rejected $2.4 billion in federal funding for a proposed high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando. The governor’s decision was based upon the likelihood of an up to $3 billion cost overrun, the likelihood of operating subsidies, and the requirement that the federal grant would have to be repaid if trains were not operating frequently enough, even if they were nearly empty. Governor Scott joins other governors in this trend: Governor Chris Christie (R), who canceled a new Hudson River tunnel that was …
Education reform is taking shape across the nation, and for many states, the next wave of change is coming as state leaders push for teacher tenure reform. Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, and New Jersey have proposed to eliminate or dramatically restructure the current form of teacher tenure. Additionally, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg “has campaigned aggressively for the state to end ‘last in, first out’ protections for teachers.” At present, public school teachers receive tenure after a few years of teaching, at which point they can be fired only …
