Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Vouchers

voucher verdict

National
August 9, 2018

Students’ math scores drop for years after using a private school voucher in country’s largest program

The findings are a blow to the argument that poor students benefit from the choice to attend a private school, a policy championed by Betsy DeVos.

Emerging differences

Tennessee
August 3, 2018

Here’s how Lee, Dean compare on education in the race to be Tennessee’s next governor

The state's next leader will set the course for school funding and shape education policy on everything from student testing to teacher evaluations.

scaling back

Tennessee
July 30, 2018

Six Memphis Catholic schools would convert to charters under revised application

After seeking to be the largest charter school operator in Memphis, a new organization hoping to convert Catholic schools to public ones is scaling back.

campaign finance

Tennessee
July 23, 2018

Nashville organization drops $26,000 to support a single school board candidate in Memphis

TennesseeCAN spent more than $26,000 on behalf of candidate Michelle Robinson McKissack for mailed advertisements, phone calls, and texts in late June.

Education Attack

Colorado
June 7, 2018

Fact checking the Colorado governor’s race: The truth behind 5 claims dividing Democratic contenders

As the Colorado Democratic primary nears, candidates for governor are using old education positions to highlight small policy differences.

testing vouchers

National
May 29, 2018

D.C.’s private school voucher program hurt low-income students’ math test scores, according to federal study

Low-income students who used a voucher to attend a private school in Washington, D.C., continued to see substantially lower math test scores after two years in the program

vouching for vouchers

National
April 24, 2018

Louisiana vouchers have led to big drops in test scores, but they also might boost college enrollment

Students who won a school voucher in Louisiana to attend their top-ranked private high school were 6 percentage points more likely to enroll in college.
Indiana
April 4, 2018

Voucher waivers for struggling private schools are ‘out of control,’ Indiana official says

Ever since a state law was passed last year, Indiana private schools have been allowed to ask for a waiver to accept…

dotting the i's

Colorado
March 2, 2018

Group that supported Douglas County anti-voucher candidates fined in campaign finance case

A judge found no attempt to deceive voters because the group disclosed "the key fact that a large national union of teachers was attempting to influence the election.”

By the numbers

Indiana
March 1, 2018

Indiana still has the nation’s largest voucher program. But growth is slowing down.

More than 35,000 Hoosier students receive vouchers to help pay for private school tuition.

By the numbers

National
February 12, 2018

Trump’s proposed education budget: more for school choice, less for teacher training

The budget plan, released Monday, amounts to a doubling down on Betsy DeVos’s central belief. (It's also likely to be ignored.)

Jubilee Schools

Tennessee
February 1, 2018

New charter organization led by Christian Brothers University president seeks to take over Jubilee schools

John Smarrelli is the board chairman of a new charter organization, New Day Schools, that announced its intent to convert nine Catholic schools to charters.

Conversion story

Tennessee
January 30, 2018

What needs to happen for a group of Memphis Catholic schools to become charters

No shortage of things must happen for the financially strapped schools to be transformed into what would be the largest charter school network in Memphis.

moot point

Colorado
January 26, 2018

The Douglas County voucher case is finally over

Elections have consequences, and this week the Colorado Supreme Court delivered on one.

hail mary

Tennessee
January 24, 2018

With the defeat of vouchers, Memphis Catholic leaders seek charter conversion

But whether that avenue is open depends on Shelby County Schools.

school choice word choice

National
January 18, 2018

The ‘V’ word: Why school choice advocates avoid the term ‘vouchers’

Voters said they narrowly opposed school vouchers, 47 to 49 percent, even though similar approaches won much more support.

DeVos on offense

National
January 16, 2018

DeVos criticizes Bush-Obama policies, saying it’s time to overhaul conventional schooling

One era of federal involvement in education is over, Betsy DeVos said Tuesday, in some of her most expansive public remarks since taking over the department last year.

Capitol Hill

Tennessee
January 8, 2018

Vouchers have dominated Tennessee’s ed debate for years, but won’t in 2018. Here’s why — and what could come next.

Here are four explanations behind the dramatic shift — and a look at why the climate could change again next year.

stalled

Tennessee
December 22, 2017

A bill that would have piloted vouchers in Memphis dies before the session starts

Rep. Harry Brooks, the Knoxville Republican who sponsored the voucher bill, says he won’t advance it in the House.

2017 in review

National
December 22, 2017

What we’ve learned: 5 lessons from education research to take into 2018

Researchers have worked through 2017 to separate fact from fiction.

Looking back and ahead

Tennessee
December 21, 2017

Here are six big things that happened in Tennessee in 2017 that will resonate in 2018

From TNReady snafus to pre-K investments, Tennessee faced education challenges and opportunities in 2017 that are sure to make headlines again during the new year.

changeup

Tennessee
December 18, 2017

School vouchers hit snag in Tennessee as sponsor announces he won’t advance bill

Sen. Brian Kelsey says he won’t ask a Senate committee to take up his bill when the legislature reconvenes next month.

choice for most

National
December 15, 2017

14 percent of U.S. schools accepting vouchers have anti-LGBT policies, according to new investigation

The story’s analysis and conclusions map closely to those of an investigation we published this summer into how Indiana schools that accept vouchers treat LGBT students.

over and out

Colorado
December 4, 2017

Douglas County school board ends controversial voucher program

The board also voted to direct the school district to end a long-running legal defense of the program.

She's here!

Tennessee
November 29, 2017

Betsy DeVos tours school during her first Tennessee visit as education chief

The secretary praised career-technical education at a traditional public school, but also put in a good word for vouchers in a state that has consistently eschewed them.

gathering

Tennessee
November 27, 2017

Jeb Bush, Betsy DeVos to rally education reformers this week at Nashville summit

The gathering of some 1,100 reform-minded players comes as efforts to reengineer education as a consumer choice have buoyed under the Trump administration.

study up

National
November 15, 2017

Trump education nominee pleads ignorance about high-profile voucher studies showing negative results

The nominee to be second-in-command at the Department of Education, said he was not aware of high-profile studies showing that school vouchers can hurt student achievement.

Coming to Tennessee

Tennessee
November 10, 2017

Betsy DeVos to address Jeb Bush’s education summit in Nashville

The visit will mark DeVos’s first to Tennessee since the Michigan billionaire became President Donald Trump’s secretary of education in February.

sweeping change

Colorado
Updated November 8, 2017

Anti-voucher slate in Douglas County cruises to victory

One of the Douglas County school board's major reforms on the line is a private-school voucher program.

Colorado Votes 2017

Colorado
October 26, 2017

Douglas County’s politically charged, voucher-driven school board election explained

The easy answer to the complicated question in Douglas County is private school vouchers.

Following the money

Colorado
October 18, 2017

Douglas County slate that favors continuing school voucher court case is ahead in early fundraising, records show

The group, which calls itself “Elevate Douglas County,” edged out its competition, by more than $30,000 in monetary contributions to committees for candidates.

choice research

National
September 27, 2017

Florida’s tax credit voucher program helps get students to — but not necessarily through — college, study finds

Students in the country’s largest private school choice program were more likely to attend college than similar students who remained in public school

choice history

National
September 18, 2017

The rise of tax credits: How Arizona created an alternative to school vouchers — and why they’re spreading

With its adoption of a tax credit scholarship program, Illinois became the 18th state to endorse an innocuously named policy that critics have described as a “backdoor voucher.”

tribute

Tennessee
September 14, 2017

Betsy DeVos laments death of Memphis civil rights leader Dwight Montgomery

The local president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was one of few prominent black civil rights leaders to back the divisive education chief.

Tour DeVos

Colorado
September 11, 2017

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to visit Colorado this week

The department declined to identify which Colorado schools — public or private — DeVos will visit, saying that announcement will come Tuesday.

choice for most

National
August 10, 2017

Chalkbeat explains: When can private schools discriminate against students?

Here’s your guide to understanding when, why and how private schools can say no to some students.

choice for most

National
August 10, 2017

Choice for most: In nation’s largest voucher program, $16 million went to schools with anti-LGBT policies

One in 10 of Indiana’s voucher schools publicly shares a policy suggesting or declaring that LGBT students are not welcome.

school barriers

National
August 7, 2017

Even with a voucher, families find themselves facing extra fees for private school

A new study finds that families who use a private-school voucher are happy with their choice — but also points to an obstacle that keeps some families from using a voucher at all.

policy choices

National
July 30, 2017

Do vouchers actually expand school choice? Not necessarily — it depends on how they’re designed

Who benefits most from private school voucher programs: families with few options or the schools themselves?

choice words

National
July 23, 2017

Critics of vouchers say they’re marred by racism and exacerbate segregation. Are they right?

A recent report described the “racist origins” of school vouchers; school choice backers have vehemently denied the charge. So what do we know about the competing claims?

voucher void

New York
July 12, 2017

Report: Special education voucher program leaves some of New York City’s poorest families without services

"The process itself is in violation of the law."

a chalkbeat cheat sheet

National
Updated 16 hours ago

Do school vouchers ‘work’? As the debate heats up, here’s what research really says

Do vouchers raise test scores or lower them? Do they damage public schools or push them to improve? Here's your cheat sheet to the big questions about school vouchers.

back to the future

Colorado
June 27, 2017

Colorado Supreme Court ordered to reconsider Douglas County school voucher case

The edict comes a day after the nation’s highest court issued a ruling on a case that touched on similar issues.

Decisions & Choices

Colorado
June 26, 2017

Douglas County voucher supporters encouraged by Supreme Court decision in similar case

Opponents to the Douglas County voucher program saw something to like in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision too.

Voucher debate update

National
June 26, 2017

Students given vouchers in Louisiana do worse than their peers. But new research shows some kids catch up

The Louisiana Scholarship Program is the seventh-largest voucher program in the country, serving over 7,000 students.

Voucher debate update

National
June 26, 2017

First study of Indiana’s voucher program — the country’s largest — finds it hurts kids’ math skills at first, but not over time

The results amount to a Rorschach test for advocates on either side of the issue.

charter politics

National
Updated June 13, 2017

Betsy DeVos to charter school leaders: Your schools ‘are not the one cure-all’

Her remarks hinted at growing divides within the school choice movement.

School choices

National
Updated May 25, 2017

School choice supporters downplay new voucher research, saying schools are more than a test score

Leading supporters emphasized the impact the programs have beyond test scores, as well as the shortcomings of recent studies.

vying for vouchers

National
May 24, 2017

Grilled by lawmakers, Betsy DeVos says voucher rules should be set locally — even if some kids are shut out

The budget has put more attention on a key aspect of how these voucher programs work: without standard rules for accountability and access.

vying for vouchers

National
May 23, 2017

On Betsy DeVos’s budget wish list: $250M to ‘build the evidence base’ for vouchers

The funding boost aimed at justifying private-school choice programs is one way DeVos is delivering on years of advocacy for those programs.
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