BRIEF: School Choice in the States – March 2021

LEGISLATION Arizona The Arizona Senate passed three bills to expand educational opportunities, all of which were then also passed by the Arizona House Ways and Means Committee, including: SB 1452 to expand eligibility for Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program to include students from low-income families or who are assigned to district schools with a high proportion of low-income […]

Public Opinion Tracker Deep Dive: Teen Perspectives

The process toward reopening schools appears to be reaching a turning point. The Department of Education’s National Safe School Reopening Summit, broadcast March 24, discussed strategies and updated CDC recommendations for schools to reopen safely. With the Institute for Education Sciences’ (IES) first monthly school survey released in March, we have much greater clarity about […]

U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey Shows Homeschooling Is Booming

On March 22, the U.S. Census Bureau released data from its Household Pulse Survey, a 20-minute online survey designed to assess the impact of the coronavirus on American households. It found that in the spring of 2020, about 5.4 percent of U.S. households with children reported homeschooling. By fall, that number had more than doubled, […]

Public Opinion Tracker Deep Dive: Perspectives of Black K-12 Parents (February 2021)

There is no question Black students and families in America are collectively experiencing learning disruptions differently than other groups. Journalists have reported on particular mental and emotional challenges Black students face in K–12 education. Trust appears to be eroding between school officials, teachers, and Black families, and Black parents appear to be less trusting of […]

What You Should Know About the New IES Study of Indiana’s Voucher Program

The federal Institute for Education Sciences, through the Regional Education Laboratory Midwest, recently published a study of educational attainment in Indiana, comparing results of students who attended traditional public schools, public charter schools, private schools via the Indiana Choice Voucher Program, and private schools without a voucher. The researchers used student-level data from the state […]

Dear Bosses: Consider This Potential New Employee Benefit

By Jennifer Wagner CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW JOB! YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PACKAGE INCLUDES… Vacation, sick and flex time. Medical, dental, vision and life insurance. Retirement savings accounts. Tuition or childcare reimbursement. Gym memberships and wellness programs. Relocation assistance. AS WELL AS… On-site hybrid learning space? Employer-funded education savings accounts Tutoring services? Over the past year, work as […]

BRIEF: School Choice in the States – February 2021

LEGISLATION Federal The U.S. Senate saw a reintroduction of previous efforts to create a federal tax credit to donors of state-based scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) that award scholarships as a part of state tax-credit scholarship programs. The bill, S 447, would create an individual federal credit worth up to $4,500 and a corporate credit worth up […]

EdChoice Public Opinion Tracker: Top Takeaways February 2021

With most schools now more than halfway through this admittedly bizarre school year, it’s time for us to check in with another update of our monthly poll tracking poll. You can browse the full reports as well as our national and state dashboards, which illustrate public opinion on various educational issues at the beginning of […]