Free Republic

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — The Douglas County School Board is set to vote on Tuesday to overturn the district's mask policy for students in schools. Currently, masks are required at schools because of a mandate put in place by the previous school board before the election in November. Now with four new board members decidedly focused on parental choice, the mask mandate will likely be replaced. "The Board recommends, regardless of vaccination status, personal and parent choice with respect to whether or not children should wear face coverings while at school," the resolution reads. It goes on to say that...

Illinois parents, along with millions of other parents across the nation, were tossed into an at-home learning environment this past spring that the public school coined “Homeschooling.” The public schools were ill-equipped for this change-over, despite years of “e-learning days” when public school children learned how to use the software during snow days and other days off. During this time of COVID-19 homeschooling, many parents reconnected with their children, enjoyed the time spent with them, and heeded the words of Bible teacher Dr. Tony Evans: “Don’t waste the Covid.” This parent-child reconnect helped foster additional learning opportunities when parents realized...

Bobby Jindal, a Republican, is governor of Louisiana. While President Obama publicly celebrated the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech last week, his administration took action behind the scenes in Louisiana that was a complete rejection of King’s dream. The Justice Department has challenged my state in court for having the temerity to start a scholarship program that frees low-income minority children from failing schools. In other words, Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder would rip children out of their schools and handcuff them to the failing schools they previously attended. And, in the ultimate...

Among the topics President Obama covered in his State of the Union Address was the need for education reform in the United States. The President told both houses of Congress and the millions who watched, "In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential." The State of the Union address occurred during National School Choice Week. One of the most successful examples of school choice was in Washington, DC, until President Obama ended the program by...

On November 3, 2010, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn. The Court was asked to consider the constitutionality of an Arizona law which gives residents a State tax credit when they donate to what are called "School Tuition organizations." These organizations in turn provide assistance to students. Arizona has at least 55 of these "School Tuition Organizations". They have distributed $50 million to 27,000 students. These grants have enabled needy students to attend 370 private schools in grades K-12. This includes religious schools, if the parents so choose....

Since his election as the first Republican Governor of New Jersey in twelve years, Catholic Governor Christopher J. "Chris" Christie has been making news! He was the keynote speaker at the American Federation of Children National Policy Summit Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Monday, May 3, 2010. Once again he surprised observers with his candor - and his refreshing willingness to shake up the "same old/same old" approach to politics and public policy. He strongly endorsed parental choice in education or what is often called "School Choice". Governor Christie is a practicing Catholic. ... He was equally frank in addressing...

Arizona Republic reporter Pat Kossan is writing a series on school choice program accountability, the most recent investigates a School Tuition Organization (STO). There is both more and less to this story than meets the eye. The STO, the Arizona Scholarship Fund, used funds raised through Arizona's scholarship tax credit law to help mentally disabled adults attend K-12 level classes. "We actually spoke to people at the Department of Revenue and the Attorney General's Office way back years ago, even before we started scholarshiping them, to find out if it was acceptable," the STO director told the Arizona Republic. Those...

Teachers unions keep telling us they care deeply, profoundly, about poor children. But what they do, as opposed to what they say, is behave like the Borg, those destructive aliens in the "Star Trek" TV series who keep coming and coming until everyone is "assimilated."We saw it in Florida this month when the state supreme court struck down a six-year-old voucher program after a union-led lawsuit. And now we're witnessing it in Milwaukee, where the nation's largest school choice program is under assault because Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle refuses to lift the cap on the number of students who can...