School Choice & Charters Blog

Charters & Choice

Charter schools. School Vouchers. Private Schools. Home Schooling. Staff Writer Arianna Prothero examined the implications of school choice for students, families, and education. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: School Choice & Charters, charter schools.

School & District Management Texas Charter School Performance Is on the Rise, CREDO Study Finds
After Texas adopted stricter rules for charter schools, student academic performance in the sector is climbing. These findings may add more fodder to the debate over whether government should play a bigger role in regulating and shutting down charter schools.
Arianna Prothero, August 7, 2017
3 min read
School Choice & Charters Are Charter Schools Bad for Black Children? The NAACP Asked, Here's What It Found
A report from the civil rights organization is the result of a nationwide "listening tour," which came in the wake of the NAACP calling for a moratorium on all new charter schools.
Arianna Prothero, July 26, 2017
3 min read
School Choice & Charters Q&A Q&A: Black Charter School Founder Says NAACP's Charter Stance Is Out of Touch
Earl Phalen, founder of a charter network that serves mostly low-income black and Latino students in Indianapolis and Detroit, says the NAACP's wholesale criticism of charter schools is out of touch with many low-income African-American families.
Arianna Prothero, July 25, 2017
4 min read
School Choice & Charters NAACP Leaders Meet This Week. What Will They Say About Charter Schools?
School choice advocates will be watching to see if the NAACP will change its hardening posture toward charter schools as its leaders gather on Saturday for the annual meeting of the civil rights organization.
Arianna Prothero, July 20, 2017
3 min read
Federal 3 Things to Watch for in DeVos' Speech to ALEC
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is scheduled to speak to state lawmakers and industry leaders at the American Legislative Exchange Council's annual meeting on Thursday. What will be her central message?
Arianna Prothero, July 19, 2017
4 min read
School Choice & Charters School Vouchers Don't Exist in Texas. Republican Opposition Is the Reason.
Private school choice supporters continue to hit a wall of opposition made up by not only by Democrats, but also members of their own party. In particular, Republicans from rural areas.
Arianna Prothero, July 14, 2017
3 min read
School Choice & Charters As Trump and DeVos Push for Private School Choice, Opponents Highlight Vouchers' Racist Past
School vouchers were used during the Jim Crow era to perpetuate segregation post Brown v. Board of Education, says a new report from the Center for American Progress.
Arianna Prothero, July 13, 2017
3 min read
School Choice & Charters Charter Schools That Charge Illegal Fees. How Pervasive Is the Problem?
Some KIPP charter schools in Houston have been accused of telling parents that certain school fees were mandatory when they were not. Nationwide, examples of charter schools charging illegal fees have been few and far between.
Arianna Prothero, July 7, 2017
4 min read
School Choice & Charters Sharing Property Taxes With Charter Schools Stirs Fight
The school board in Florida's Broward County has voted to sue over a new education law that requires school districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools
Arianna Prothero, July 6, 2017
1 min read
School Choice & Charters Q&A Why We Should Expect More Lawsuits Over Private School Vouchers
Law professor Steven Green says that although the Supreme Court didn't blow the lid off of state constitutional bans on church aid, it did open the door a bit.
Arianna Prothero, June 30, 2017
4 min read
School Choice & Charters School Voucher Advocates React to Supreme Court's Trinity Lutheran Ruling
For school voucher supporters hoping the Supreme Court's decision in the Trinity Lutheran case would dismantle major barriers to expanding voucher programs, Monday's ruling didn't offer much clarity.
Arianna Prothero, June 27, 2017
2 min read
School Choice & Charters Voucher Students Show Rough Transition in Louisiana, Indiana Private Schools
In results likely to add fuel to an already fiery debate over President Trump's planned expansion of private school vouchers, new evaluations show mixed results for voucher students in Indiana and Louisiana.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 26, 2017
5 min read
Federal The Broader Philosophical Debate Behind DeVos' Warning to Charter Advocates
In Betsy DeVos' warning to charter school advocates that they risk becoming the education establishment that they rebelled against, a broader philosophical debate in the charter movement is revealed.
Arianna Prothero, June 13, 2017
3 min read
School & District Management For-Profit Charter Schools Show Poor Academic Growth
Charter schools run by nonprofit groups outperform their for-profit counterparts, potentially adding fuel to a growing debate among advocates over the role of for-profits in the charter sector.
Arianna Prothero, June 12, 2017
3 min read