Senate Education Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) discussed the opportunities ESSA brings for charter schools. According to Alexander, the bill included “improvements to ensure that those federal funds are used as effectively as possible to increase the number of high-quality charter schools.”
U.S. News & World Report notes that just three of the 10 ESSA plans submitted to the Dept. of Education include language related to expanding school choice, despite Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ suggestion that they do so. New Mexico, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. do not...
The Maryland Legislature overruled Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill that “would limit the state’s use of charter operators and vouchers to improve low-performing schools” under the state’s ESSA plan. The bill received support from the teacher’s union who argued it “was meant to...
The Foundation for Excellence in Education released an ESSA Innovation Playbook designed to “help state policymakers navigate and identify provisions within ESSA” to “advance state priorities including school choice, digital learning, course access and competency-based education.” The playbook outlines six provisions to support local innovation...
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) spoke on a provision within the ESSA that allows states to provide federal funding to charter school initiatives. Alexander says charter schools “give teachers more freedom to teach, teach the way they want to teach, and give parents more freedom to...
Adam Edgerton, former director of the Dept. of Education’s Upward Bound Program, writes in Education Week that America’s decentralized view for government involvement in schools is similar to Britain’s reason for leaving the EU. Citing No Child Left Behind and its successor ESSA, Edgerton says...
The State Board of Education and Education Commissioner Johnny Key assembled a stakeholder group to help select a consultant that will work to increase collaboration and coordination among traditional public schools and charter schools. One of their first tasks will be to define a “high-quality school,” which...
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute held its third annual “Wonk-a-thon” where this year eleven “wonks” authored articles on ESSA and choice. The eleven articles are up for a vote to determine which contained the best policy discussion. The winner will be selected on May 18....
Max Eden, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, authored a piece discussing the current charter debate in the Colorado State Senate – the first major charter debate since the passage of ESSA. Eden noted that “the way that Republicans and Democrats vote should speak volumes...
Peter Shulman, Deputy Commissioner Division of Talent and Performance at the state Department of Education issued a memo to public and non-public chief school administrators and charter school and renaissance school project leads outlining several goals for the state’s implementation of ESSA. They mention that...
