Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana vetoed a school choice bill earlier this week.  The bill, Senate Bill 81, would have created a state income tax credit for people and businesses who donate to a school-choice program.  Montana remains one of the handful of states with no charter schools or publicly funded private school choice program.

Those interested in a quick update on the latest developments with school choice legislation in various states should check out this Education Week article.  Since the article's posting, the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate voted Monday to not delay the Alabama Accountability Act for two years, as the governor proposed.

The South Carolina Senate plans to vote on a school choice budget amendment that would provide tax deductions for parents who send their kids to private school and tax credits to those who donate to private scholarship granting organizations.  The vote is expected to be close.

Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada lists school choice as one of his top priorities.  Earlier this week members of his administration presented his plan to the Nevada Senate, which would create a scholarship tax credit program.  Organizations would receive a dollar for dollar credit toward their state liability, and low-income students could apply for scholarships from Scholarship Granting Organizations.  The cap for the total tax credits given in the first year would be $5 million.

Gov. Paul LePage of Maine, despite strong opposition, is committed to expanding educational opportunities for the students in his state.  L.D. 1529, a governor's bill sponsored by Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, would remove the cap on charter schools in the state, in addition to allowing families to send their children to private, religious schools using public funds.  This provision would, in effect, repeal a 1981 law that prohibitted public funding from being directed to religious schools.

Parental choice policies aren't about religion, even though some opponents would prefer to have the general public believe otherwise.  As noted in Zelman, school choice laws do not sponsor religion because it is parents -- not the state -- who choose where the educational dollars are directed.  As a Catholic, I believe parents are the primary educators of their children and that they have a right to control their children's education.  That's why I support school choice policies.  Importantly, though, I support these policies just as much if the parents (and children) are Catholic, as if they are not.

This article, written by N. Aaron Troodler, Esq., talks about the importance school choice policies can have for Jewish families who want their children educated in the faith.  While the author writes of his excitement about the monumental decision levied by the Indiana Supreme Court, he also notes that school choice supporters must continue to be active.  He writes,  "The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the state’s voucher program was a huge victory for school choice advocates and a reminder that there are indeed legal and constitutional ways for government to provide aid to private school parents. However, we would be naïve to expect that government will help yeshiva parents if we do not actively ask and advocate for that assistance."

Lindsey Brown, Executive Director of School Choice Indiana, offers an important perspective on the schools at which Indiana Choice Scholarship students are enrolling. 83 percent of Indiana voucher schools received grades of A or B for the 2012 school year, compared to the 58 percent of Indiana state-sponsored schools that earned an A or B grade. It’s important to note, as Ms. Brown does, that school test scores are only a small part of the equation. Parental satisfaction is just as – if not more – crucial in evaluating a school’s efficacy at meeting a child’s learning needs.

Arizona’s school choice opportunities are more diverse than most other states, and Arizona parents have far greater power to control their children’s education. More than 30,000 students in the state availed themselves of publicly funded scholarships last year. Many others attend charter schools. This story discusses some of the ways in which Arizona’s school choice policies have reshaped education in the state: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20130424how-school-choice-has-reshaped-arizona.html.

RiShawn Biddle, editor and publisher of Dropout Nation, the leading online commentary site on education reform, is one of the more articulate proponents of expanded parental rights in education.  His speech at a Restoring Excellence in Education conference in Minnesota in December 2011 reflects his belief that restoring parents' ability to control their children's education is essential.  The speech also reflects hope, as he expresses his encouragement that change is underway.  He writes, "Families, tired of waiting for politicians and school leaders to do right by their children, are pushing for reform. Parents are pushing to take their rightful place as the lead decision-makers in education. Moms and dads are demanding that they have the ability to choose schools that are fit for the futures of their children. And they are taking on adults who have perpetuated, aided, and abetted educational neglect and malpractice."  To read the full text, visit: http://dropoutnation.net/2013/04/27/best-of-dropout-nation-the-time-is-now-for-families-to-take-power-in-education/.

A sad reality of America's educational system is that the children from low-income families are often underserved in our nation's schools.  And unfortunately, this blame too often lands on the chidlren's parents.  T. Willard Fair argues that rather than blaming poor parents, our country should empower them -- even though they lack financial means -- to take control of their children's education by creating parental choice opportunities.  Fair writes, "I have devoted the past 25 years to ensuring poor minority children have access to an equal education. In this effort, I do not pledge allegiance to traditional public schools, charter schools or voucher schools.  I don’t care about the vehicle. I care about the result. And I’ve found the result is much better when parents are allowed to make choices."  The full piece can be read at http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/24/3360681/stop-blaming-poor-parents-empower.html.

Despite fierce opposition from entrenched interests, momentum for school choice has been gradually building over the years. Texas is a recent example of this trend, which has witnessed a highly contentious debate over the merits of expanding educational options to low-income families through publicly funded private school choice. A recent survey conducted in Texas reveals that approximately 2/3 of respondents support school vouchers in Texas. An overwhelming majority (80%) of Latinos surveyed support school vouchers.

Last week, the New Hampshire Senate voted on a measure that would have repealed the state's scholarship tax credit program.  The bill was defeated 14-10.  For more information, check out: http://www.cato.org/blog/school-choice-survives-repeal-attempt-new-hampshire.

Representative Warren Petryk (R-Eleva), who represents Wisconsin’s 93rd Assembly district, explains in his letter that support for public schools and support for the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program is not an either/or proposition.  Rather, both are part of his larger support for public education -- that is, that all students are able to receive a high quality education.  An educated populace is in the best interest of society, and parents are best equipped to make decisions pertaining to what learning environment best fits their children. 

Rep. Petryk also addresses questions of cost and accountability, writing "It costs taxpayers $9,920 for a student to attend Milwaukee Public Schools while a student who is in the Choice program costs the taxpayers $7,856. This means that there are more funds that are reallocated to other schools in Wisconsin with the savings from the Wisconsin Parental Choice program. Wisconsin Parental Choice schools are accountable just like their public school counterparts.  Students who attend a Choice school are required to take the same standardized tests that students in our public schools must take. Those who teach in the Choice program are required to have a bachelor's degree and the schools must have appropriate curriculum."

As more and more states have adopted school choice programs, there has been an increased demand to see research that speaks to the efficacy of the initiatives.  A recent report shows that in 11 of 12 "gold standard" studies, all or some of those students achieve better educational outcomes. No study found choice participants were worse off than those remaining in traditional public schools.  The report, commissioned by the Friedman Foundation, found that "of the 23 empirical studies on how school choice impacts public education, 22 show the resulting competition improved public school performance. No research concluded school choice harms public schools."

After the Idaho House of Representative passed a bill that would created the state's first publicly funded school choice program, a Senate committee quashed the initiative with a 7-2 vote.

Senator Bob Nonini, who sponsored the bill, saw the program as an opportunity to "raise the bar," but was unable to generate enough support in the legislature.  Nonini told the Senate committee that the tax credit program, which was capped at $10 million, would have saved the state nearly $6 million.