Several Texas school districts have filed a lawsuit to stop implementation of a new grading system for schools. Currently, 60 percent of students must pass the College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) test for a school to receive an A. The new standard would be 88 percent. School districts are claiming that they haven’t had…
When rights are ascribed to groups, conflicts necessarily result when non-members of the favored group become victims of the alleged rights. This is true no matter which group is favored, including parents. An illuminating example comes from Florida, where advocates of “parents’ rights” have achieved many legislative victories, including an expanded school choice program. Instead…
Stacy Davis Gates, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, is being criticized for enrolling her son in a private school while opposing school choice programs. Gates has defended her hypocrisy by claiming that she and her husband were forced to enroll their son in a “private high school so he could live out his…
Opponents of school choice frequently claim that those who support vouchers and similar programs are racist. As one example, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weigarten recently compared advocates of “parents’ rights” to the segregationists of the 1950s. Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Gates Davis has called private schools “segregation academies.” Both evade the fact…
A major criticism of school choice programs is that private schools receiving tax dollars are not held accountable to taxpayers. Indeed, a Texas House committee recently released a report that recommended that transparency and accountability be a part of any school choice program. If tax dollars are going to be funneled to private schools, the…
School choice programs empower parents to select the school that is best for their children. And those programs are creating a market for the education innovators. One example is OptimaEd, a Florida based company offering a virtual-reality school. Students at the school wear a virtual-reality headset off and on for about three hours per day….
A recent piece by columnist LZ Granderson argues that school choice is “a cover for segregation.” It is a rebuke of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which outlawed segregation in government schools, and it is an attempt to create separate but unequal schooling in the name of God. School choice, he claims is…
Few Americans would claim that the nation’s school systems do not need improvement. However, there is little agreement on how to offer all students a high-quality education. Some argue that government schools need more funding. Others argue that school choice is the solution. Both of these arguments miss the fundamental issue. To improve our nation’s…
Defenders of government schools like to claim that vouchers, educational savings plans, and similar programs give “public money” to parents for private schooling. Indeed, a recent headline states, “More states using taxpayer dollars to help families pay for private school.” This claim is effective only if one drops context. There is no such thing as…
An editorial in the San Antonio Express-News declares, “STAAR test fails Texas students and needs to go—but not as part of school vouchers.” The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) was first implemented in the 2011-2012 school year. The test is used to determine promotion to the next grade, as well as graduation….
The Texas Standard reports that the state’s method for funding government schools hurts rural districts and puts an “increasing burden on local taxpayers.” The article goes on to note that, while school property taxes keep going up, the schools aren’t getting any better. And in some cases, they are getting worse. While the article doesn’t…
A recent opinion piece at CNN.com addresses several bills that were introduced in the 2023 Texas legislative session, including a requirement that the Ten Commandments be posted in every government school classroom. The article correctly notes that this is part of a decades long battle by religionists to impose Christian ideas through the schools. The…