Latest School choice News
Tennessee lawmakers adjourn after finalizing $1.9B tax cut and refund for businesses
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's GOP-controlled General Assembly on Thursday adjourned for the year, concluding months of tense political infighting that doomed Republican Gov. Bill Lee's universal school voucher push. But a bill allowing some teachers to carry firearms in public schools and...
North Carolina governor seeks to halt GOP's favored policies as legislature resumes
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly returned Wednesday for its budget-adjustment session, receiving a spending plan from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper that seeks to halt Republicans' premier policies in recent years on taxes and school choice — proposals that GOP lawmakers are...
$6,500 school vouchers coming to Georgia as bill gets final passage and heads to governor
ATLANTA (AP) — Proclaiming that “education is truly the great equalizer,” Gov Brian Kemp signed a law on Tuesday that will give up to $6,500 a year to some Georgia families to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses. It's a victory for the Republican governor,...
Public school advocates again face how to stop school choice in Nebraska
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Public school advocates in Nebraska are decrying the passage of bill to directly fund private school tuition with taxpayer money as a “cowardly act" to keep voters from deciding the issue at the ballot box. On Thursday — the last day of this year’s...
Tennessee Gov. Lee admits defeat in school voucher push
GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee conceded defeat Monday in his push to enact universal school vouchers this year, acknowledging there was not a "path forward” after months of Republican infighting. It’s a blow to school choice advocates who had hoped to add...
Tennessee lawmakers approve $52.8B spending plan as hopes of school voucher agreement flounder
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's Republican-dominant Statehouse approved a $52.8 billion spending plan Thursday for the upcoming fiscal year that includes an eye-popping $1.95 billion tax break and refund for businesses, but little new tax relief for most Tennessee families. ...
Missouri lawmakers expand private school scholarships backed by tax credits
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill to expand private school scholarships statewide, an effort made possible by extensive compromises including a commitment to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on public schools. The GOP-led House voted...
The push for school choice in Nebraska is pitting lawmakers against their constituents
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are set for the first time to pass a bill that would block the public from voting on a ballot measure initiated by citizens of the state, setting up what could be a long battle over whether to fund private school tuition with public dollars. On...
Kentucky ballot measure should resolve school-choice debate, Senate leader says
Kentucky's long-running political battle over whether taxpayer money should fund private or charter schools could be settled “once and for all” when voters decide the fate of a ballot measure in November, the state Senate's top Republican leader said Tuesday. One of the most...
Kentucky Senate confirms Robbie Fletcher as next state education commissioner
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Veteran school administrator Robbie Fletcher won state Senate confirmation Monday to become Kentucky’s next education commissioner, taking on a lead role in managing a statewide school system that, based on test scores, is still recovering from pandemic-era setbacks. ...