In the past few years, four states have established programs that provide public financial support to students who choose to attend a private school. These programs--a tax-credit-funded scholarship initiative in Florida and voucher programs in Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio--offer a glimpse of what expansive statewide choice might look like. What…

This report asserts that tax credit scholarship programs, that distribute scholarships to students via Scholarship Tuition Organizations (STOs), have saved state treasuries between $1.7 and $3.4 billion dollars since 1998. The report argues that these programs are able to realize fiscal savings as a result of students leaving public schools and…

In this report, a school choice advocacy group presents results from its survey of K-12 parents within and across the public and private sectors. They report that parents are highly satisfied with voucher and tax credit scholarship programs and suggest that the findings support the expansion of school choice programs. However, these and other…

Although reauthorization of the the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) may be in jeopardy, a new evaluation highlights how the program is benefiting families. The study revealed that parents and students are overwhelmingly satisfied with their experiences in the DCOSP. Families feel that their children are safer, have a better attitude…

While many have focused on the program's positive impact on academic achievement, a recent Department of Education evaluation also studied how the program has affected students' educational experiences in other ways, including school safety and school climate. Past evaluations have reported that school safety was an important reason why families…

Despite growing evidence of the success of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program (DCOSP), its future beyond 2009-2010 remains uncertain. This spring, Congress included legislative language in the Omnibus Appropriations Act requiring that the DCOSP be reauthorized by Congress and authorized by the D.C. City Council before receiving new federal…

This article presents speeches describing John McCain's position on education posted on the McCain campaign's official web site, www.johnmccain.com. These include McCain's speech to LaRaza convention, July 14; McCain's speech to the NAACP, July 16; McCain's speech at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center, May 15; and McCain's speech at…

The Washington, D.C. school system has a long history of poor academic achievement; however, over the past decade, the District of Columbia has made strides in offering families greater choice about which schools their children attend, thanks to a strong charter school law and the federally funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. District…

The more than 500,000 children currently in foster care are among the most at-risk children in American society. Research shows that adults who were formerly in foster care are more likely than the general population to succumb to poor life outcomes. Many of these problems are at least in part a product of problems in the classroom, where foster…

As of August 1999, 79 private scholarships provide 57,000 children an opportunity to go to a school chosen by their parents. In low-income urban areas, access to quality educational opportunity is as critical as it is scarce. Urban public schools cost more but have higher dropout rates. Significant percentages of urban public teachers send their…

Presents a specific model law establishing educational choice called the "Scholarship Initiative." Cast in the form of a state constitutional amendment, the model provides a basic framework if reform is attempted through statutory change. (47 footnotes) (MLF)

In 2006, President Bush proposed the America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids initiative in his budget request for the Department of Education. The plan would make $100 million available in competitive grant awards to provide scholarships to low income students in persistently failing public schools. Only low-income students attending public…

Low-income scholarships facilitate an immediate, cost-effective way for students to go to much better schools, providing leverage for public schools to undertake needed reforms to benefit disadvantaged students. The United States is one of the few countries that does not have a significant voucher or choice system, though support for choice…

This paper describes Florida's school choice program, instituted in 2000, for students with disabilities. It reports that, during 2000-01, the McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities provided scholarships to more than 1,000 students who chose to attend private schools rather than remain in their neighborhood public schools. It…

Suggests that private school choice initiatives, though fiercely opposed by teacher unions and civil-liberties groups, will allow minority students from poor urban areas to succeed educationally. Urban minority parents support school choice. If U.S. politicians and citizens truly believe in the right to life, liberty, and the freedom to better…