Senate panel approves major expansion of school choice program
The 4-3 vote by the Senate Education Committee followed hours of testimony from individuals who already get what lawmakers call “empowerment scholarship accounts” detailing how they have helped their children. Eligible groups range from children with special needs to those on reservations and those who attend schools rated D or F.
Ducey defends using public funds for private schools
Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday defended state laws that let parents use public funds to send children to private and parochial schools.
A critical year for school choice
The coming year will be a critical time for the school choice movement in Arizona and nationally.
School choice bill for American Indians set for U.S. Senate debate
A U.S. Senate bill that would allow American Indian students in federal schools to use a state school choice program is set for committee debate Sept. 7.
Begay urges Senate panel to back bill giving Native students school choice
Arizona state Sen. Carlyle Begay, R-Ganado, told a U.S. Senate committee on April 6 that a bill to give Native American students school choice is the “true essence of self-determination and self-empowerment” that tribes are seeking.
Tribal officials lukewarm to plan to use federal money on school choice
Tribal leaders were noncommittal Friday about a proposal that would divert Bureau of Indian Education funds into education savings accounts that individual Native American children could use to attend schools of their choosing.
Arizona school data shows uneven distribution of ethnic groups
Two decades after Arizona helped pioneer the charter school movement, enrollment data show the schools don’t match the school age demographics of the state and, in many cases, their neighborhoods. White - and especially Asian - students attend charter schools at a higher rate than Hispanics, who now make up the the greatest portion of Arizona’s school age population.
School choice should be an everyday mission
Near the spot where he took the oath of office last year, Gov. Doug Ducey celebrated National School Choice Week with students and their families from across Arizona. Organizing the event are the same groups that, over the past decade and before, disagreed over issues such as school funding and academic standards and in some instances even sued Arizona over how to provide a quality education for e[...]
Coalitions block GOP bills to repeal Common Core, boost school choice
After campaigning on an education platform of increasing school choice and doing away with Common Core, many conservative Republicans in the Legislature are frustrated to find that they can’t make good on their promises to constituents.
Beyond fliers: Schools develop new techniques to cope in a competitive world
School choice has fostered competition, and with that has come student recruitment, growing marketing budgets and branding for public schools.
School-choice bill introduced to reduce waiting lists
A bill that would allow possibly thousands of students on public-school waiting lists to go to private schools on taxpayer funds has been introduced.
Tips for finding the right school for your child
If you’d like to send your child to a different school next year, now’s the time to start the process of researching your options.