In a momentous move in March of this year, a Colorado school board voted to implement its first private school choice program. The program allows up to 500 children in Douglas County to attend a private school of their choice. Now, hundreds of students are being blocked from receiving these scholarships due to the decision of a state district judge from Denver to halt the voucher program, claiming that it violates the state constitution. The county school board is planning to appeal the decision. John Carson, president of the Douglas …
It’s back to school time. And this year, students across the nation have more educational opportunity than in any previous year. 2011 has been named “The Year of School Choice,” and for good reason. Forty-two states introduced over 150 pieces of school choice legislation, and 12 states and the District of Columbia enacted plans to broaden school choice. As of this year, 18 states plus D.C. offer some form of private school choice: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. The Year of School Choice – Ed Feulner, The Washington Times Beware: New Obamanomics Plan Ahead – Brian Darling, Human Events Health insurance mandates threaten everyone’s freedom – Chuck Donovan, Daily Caller More Regulation Is the Last Thing Economy Needs – Ramesh Ponnuru, Bloomberg DOJ’s Expanding Power to Seize Assets Sparks Concerns – Nathan Koppel, Wall Street Journal Hugo Chavez Goes for the Gold – Ray Walser, FoxNews.com America is forfeiting …
If you happened to be in Washington, D.C., last weekend, you may have run into the “Save Our Schools Rally”—perhaps more accurately titled “Maintain the Status Quo in Education Rally.” The folks over at Reason TV were on hand to talk with participants of the rally and created this short video (language warning) that highlights the left’s misunderstanding of the problems in America’s education system today. For example, Matt Damon, who spoke at the rally, scoffs at the idea of providing incentives to high-performing teachers or firing poorly performing teachers. …
Be sure to tune in to Heritage Libertad Radio this Sunday at Noon ET, here. The first 30 minutes is in Spanish, covering President Obama’s speech to La Raza, answering Heritage member questions on air, and discussing the latest with the debt negotiations. The second 30 minutes is in English, also covering the President’s speech to La Raza, answering Heritage member question, and concluding with an interview featuring Heritage analyst Lindsey Burke discussing school choice.
What if a sports team continued to lose more and more games, even as it continued to spend more money on brand new uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, and more coaches? You would probably begin to wonder whether all the new spending was doing any good. Unfortunately, a story like this plays out in America’s public school system. For decades, the federal government has poured more taxpayer dollars into schools, even as the basics like reading and math are neglected. In this new video, The Heritage Foundation explains how more spending on …
Click here to join the chat! we are joined by Heritage’s Education expert, Lindsey Burke. She is taking your questions about the advances in school choice and other opportunities for educational freedom. 2011 has been called the “Year of School Choice“. 13 new school choice programs have been created in various states, and just yesterday, President Obama acknowledged how important school vouchers were to his success in life saying that he “wouldn’t be president if someone hadn’t helped provide some scholarships for my school.” If you would like to be …
President Obama had no shortage of things to say at yesterday’s Twitter town hall meeting, even if he didn’t always have firm grasp of the facts or reality. A reader ran the numbers: Obama used a total number of 8,519 words in his answers — or roughly 38,703 characters. At 140 characters each, that’s about 276 tweets (excluding space for @replies, links or hashtags). In the course of the conversation, Obama didn’t let the facts get in the way of his answers. Heritage investigative reporter Lachlan Markay noted Obama’s false …
Moments ago in his Twitter Town Hall chat, President Barack Obama said he “wouldn’t be president if someone hadn’t helped provide some scholarships for my school.” At age ten, President Obama received a scholarship to attend the prestigious Punahou School in Hawaii. President Obama’s remarks today underscore the life-changing significance of school choice—an opportunity most students trapped in failing and often violent public schools never get. (To hear the stories of a few who have had their horizons expanded by the school choice, watch our documentary Let Me Rise.) Sadly, the President …
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 …
