Free Republic

Republican Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday signed the CHOOSE Act into law, making Alabama the latest state to make universal school choice law. "Alabama is only the 14th state in the nation to provide families with an education savings account option," Ivey said after signing the legislation. The education savings account is a school choice model that enables parents to use public funds to cover a variety of education expenses, including private school tuition, instructional materials, and homeschooling costs. School choice, or providing all families with alternatives to the public schools they’re zoned for, can be expanded through multiple avenues...

Teacher unions have strategically been pouring donations into Republican political campaigns, according to a report from the Daily Signal....... Teachers unions donated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to certain Republican candidates’ state legislative primaries in states that tout school choice and parental rights bills, including Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy fellow Jason Bedrick told The Daily Signal that "the unions are terrified that parents are clamoring for more education choice, so they’re doing everything they can to stop it." He continued, "It’s obvious what’s going on here: In red states,...

BELTON, Texas (KWTX) - Bell County voters head to the polls on Tuesday as four republican and one democratic candidates are up for election in the Texas House District 55 primary election. The issue at the center of the race revolves around school choice, which Governor Greg Abbott has made a priority. School choice is a concept that uses public tax dollars to help pay for private education and other educational services through an Education Savings Account, similar to Health Savings Accounts...He was one of 21 republicans to vote school choice out of a House bill last year. Shines says...

One of the best things about National School Choice Week (celebrated this year from January 21–27) is watching people take advantage of the growing range of options that allow them to opt out of public schools, often while taking per-student funding with them to pay for preferred alternatives. From panicked supporters of government schools to relieved parents and joyful choice advocates, the shift in education is showing up across American society. Where Are the Public-School Students? "Fresh from the academic struggles that followed the pandemic, and with federal relief funds soon to run out, [public school district leaders] now confront...

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten recently said that school choice “undermines democracy.” In a video of her remarks, Weingarten slammed former White House Education Secretary Betsy Devos, City Journal journalist Christopher Rufo, and prominent school choice activist Corey DeAngelis. “[School choice proponents] have not one thing that they offer as a solution other than privatizing or voucherizing schools, which is about undermining democracy and undermining civil discourse and undermining pluralism, because 90 percent of our kids goes to public schools still. They just divided. Divided, divide, divide, divide,” Weingarten claimed. “What did Rufo say? Rufo, DeAngelis, Devos,...

The leader of one of the nation's largest teachers unions was seen in a viral video saying that school choice "undermines democracy." American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten made the remarks at the "Network for Public Education Action" national conference in October. A clip of her remarks blasting methods of school choice was shared on X and went viral on social media this week. In the video, Weingarten took aim at former White House Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Manhattan Institute's Christopher Rufo, and American Federation For Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis for advocating for school choice measures. "They...

Parents, children, lawmakers and educators gathered at an ‘Education Freedom Rally’ in Jackson on Wednesday. The event, hosted by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, was attended by over 120 people, with representatives from half a dozen different organizations taking part. “Last week saw the Republicans win a super majority in Mississippi. Parents at our rally would like to see them use that majority to achieve major strategic change in Mississippi education,” explained Douglas Carswell, CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. Corey DeAngelis of the Federation for American Children spoke at the event, explaining why school choice is...

Many on the right are waking up to public schools indoctrinating children into woke ideologies. X (formerly Twitter) accounts like Libs of TikTok have been exposing public school teachers as Marxists, intent on coaxing children into their gnostic cults. The right has been predictably outraged and has shown up in force for school board meetings demanding change. A few teachers have been fired, but there appears to be an endless supply of replacements in the ideological war. Most normal Americans have started understanding that “diversity” is a common Marxist buzzword. When a Marxist uses the word “diversity,” he does not...

Want to have some ability to choose where your child goes to school? Well, then you’re a racist. So says Randi Weingarten, leader of the American Federation of Teachers. Words like “school choice” or “parental rights,” she maintains, are the “same kinds of words” used by segregationists, so if you use them too, you’re one of them. Predictably, Weingarten is now furiously backpedaling, claiming that she was just making an innocent comment about “language” rather than actually accusing anyone of being racist, but this isn’t the first time she’s beat this drum. In 2017, she called school-choice programs the “only...

Another piece of charter school legislation was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper late Friday afternoon. The bill would have lessened the caps on enrollment growth. The Charter School Omnibus bill, as it is known, would also allow county commissioners to give property tax proceeds for capital projects. Cooper, a second-term Democrat, previously vetoed the Charter School Review Board legislation. The latest veto by Cooper is his 89th since taking office in January 2017 and 14th this session. Eight of those have already been reversed by successful override challenges, and more are expected. Cooper’s statement on the veto, in full, said,...

Mesha Mainor was elected as a Democrat member of the State House of Representatives for District 56 in Atlanta, Georgia, This week she announced she was switching to the Republican Party. The key events spurring her change of Party were her support for school choice and her opposition to defunding the police. "For decades, the Democrat Party has received the support of more than 90% of the black community," Mainor pointed out. "Yet, when it comes to education, the public schools serving the areas where Blacks live are the worst in the state. Polls show that over 70% of Blacks...

ATLANTA – A Democratic state representative who was criticized by fellow Democrats for voting with Republicans during this year’s General Assembly session has gone over to the GOP. Rep. Mesha Mainor of Atlanta announced Tuesday that she is turning Republican, adding to the GOP’s House majority. Mainor voted with the Republicans on several key pieces of legislation this year, most notably her vote in favor of a controversial school voucher bill. Despite her support, the measure failed to pass when a number of rural Republicans opposed it, citing a lack of private-school alternatives in their areas. On Tuesday, Mainor said...

A growing number of states are adopting a comprehensive new type of school choice program that would pose a threat to public schools if many students were to leave them for a private education. Eight states—including Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and West Virginia—have approved “universal” or near-universal school choice laws since 2021. They open the door completely to school choice by making all students, including those already in private schools and from wealthy families, eligible for about $7,000 to $10,000 in state funding each year for their education. What’s more, most of these states have also enacted education savings accounts, or...

It has only been a year since Arizona passed the country’s first comprehensive school choice program. But since then, seven other states, including Florida, have followed suit with at least eight more on track to adopt similar bills in the near future. Families who take advantage of such legislation typically get a separate account from the state or local government for each child they wish to educate independently. The funds can be spent on a variety of approved placements including private and parochial schools, online academies, private tutors, and even home schools. Given the outsized influence of the teacher unions...

The Democratic Party’s enthusiasm for new immigrants is pushing their African-American supporters out the back door, according to a Democratic African-American legislator in the Georgia House of Representatives. “Every election year I hear ‘Black Lives Matter!” State Rep. Mesha Mainor (D-56) said in a tweet outlining her displeasure: But do they? I see every other minority being prioritized except black children living in poverty that can’t read. We’ll send a million dollars to the border for immigrant services. But black communities? Not even a shout-out. I’m sorry, I don’t agree with this. I’m not backing down. I’m actually just getting...

<p>But after the murder of George Floyd, the $50,000-a-year school said it was reimagining its purpose “with an eye toward anti-racism” and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. In Eisenberg’s view, Brentwood was pulling a “bait and switch” on parents. He sued the school last year for breach of contract, civil rights violations and emotional distress.</p>

With an estimated 77,000 on charter school waiting lists, lawmakers in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Tuesday will consider several bills designed to open up school choice for families. The House Education Committee will hear three bills that could provide more school options for North Carolina families: one to expand Opportunity Scholarships, another to streamline charter school approvals, and a third to allow open enrollment in public schools. House Bill 823, known as Choose Your School, Choose Your Future, is sponsored by top House Republicans including Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, to expand Opportunity Scholarships to all students through...

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt indicated Friday that he would continue vetoing unrelated bills until the House and Senate agree on school choice and tax cuts. Stitt vetoed 20 unrelated Senate bills this week, all with the same message. "Until we get tax cuts, until we get parent choice done, we are not going to do all this other stuff for lobbyists and special interest groups," Stitt said at his weekly news conference. "Let's get those things done and then we will be happy to talk about some other things in the budget." The House and Senate have passed two versions...

Surviving the next decades might be an uphill struggle for the Democrat Party. This not so much, or not only, because of the strength of its opponents, but because of education options that give students the choice to attend a school other than their neighborhood public school, commonly referred to as ‘school choice’ policies. So says The Spectator’s Lewis M. Andrews. His reasoning goes as follows: only occasionally in U.S. history does an issue surface that challenges not only the core values of a political party but the party’s working system, that is its ability to function. Now, “if any...

A massive expansion of Florida’s school-choice programs that would make all students eligible for taxpayer-backed vouchers is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis, after the Republican-controlled Senate passed the measure Thursday amid warnings from Democrats. In a 26-12 vote along straight party lines, senators gave final approval to the measure (HB 1), which the House passed last week. DeSantis already has pledged to sign the proposal, which includes removing income-eligibility requirements that are part of current voucher programs. It has been a top priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican who was in the Senate chamber Thursday. “We...