This week in the Charters & Choice news roundup, advocates of a new type of school voucher program scored a victory as a third state moves toward adopting education savings accounts. But first, a well-known charter school network pulls out of a plan at the last minute to take over a struggling district school in Memphis. This isn’t the first time this has happened, reports Chalkbeat Tennessee’s Daarel Burnette:
“YES Prep is the fourth charter management organization to pull out of the takeover process in Memphis.” @ChalkbeatTN http://t.co/L2G3IORad2
— Jen Croslin Smith (@jencroslinsmith) March 25, 2015
A fading public-private divide...
Several state legislatures this year are considering bills that would expand private school choice through state-backed programs, reports Caroline Porter for the Wall Street Journal.
At least 34 states consider proposals for private education options this year, per @NCSLorg: http://t.co/TDV4bZRA2I pic.twitter.com/RZB7yOujyl
— Caroline Porter (@carolineporter) March 27, 2015
Straight from the statehouse...
Mississippi lawmakers have passed a school voucher-like bill for students with special needs, called education savings accounts. The governor is expected to sign the bill, which would make Mississippi only the third state—after Arizona and Florida—to have an ESA program. You can check out the recent explainer I wrote on ESAs here.
Meanwhile, a Senate bill to expand Arizona’s ESA program to include students living on Indian reservations failed to pass the House.
In charter school news, a bill to give facilities funding to charter schools in Arkansas has passed both chambers, while a much-watched proposal to toughen up Ohio’s current charter school law passed the House and now heads to the Senate.
And now for the kicker:
Blazers, ties, and ... 3-D printers? An elite private day school is pushing the ed tech boundaries. Take a tour of the school and its programs, compliments of my colleague Benjamin Herold:
$43,000 per year private school does #edtech in a big way. Lessons for public school here? http://t.co/YUNSeLnQle pic.twitter.com/qHwVsZjzAU
— Michelle Davis (@EWmdavis) March 27, 2015
Have an idea for next week’s Charters & Choice news roundup? Leave it in the comments below or tweet it to @ChartersNChoice.