Tennessee has:
2 educational choice programs | 96 additional resources
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Education Savings Account
Tennessee – Individualized Education Account Program
Tennessee enacted the nation’s fourth education savings account (ESA) program in 2015. The program, which launched in 2016, gives parents of students with special needs access to an Individualized Education Account (IEA). An IEA can be used for a variety of educational expenses, including private school tuition, private tutoring, learning therapies and more. Learn more about this program’s funding, eligibility and regulations in this section.View Program Details1Tennessee’s Education Savings Account Pilot Program, enacted in 2019 and launching during the 2021–22 school year, is the state’s first voucher and second private school choice program. The state-funded voucher is available to students from low- and middle-income households in Memphis and Nashville who are switching out of a public district or charter school or are eligible for the first time to enroll in a Tennessee school. Voucher students who enroll in private schools may also use the voucher funds for various K–12 and higher education expenses in addition to private school tuition and fees. Learn more about the program’s details, including eligibility, funding and regulations, on this page.Tennessee has 96 resources
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Blog PostChoice in the States: Tennessee with Justin Owen
In the first episode of our Choice in the States series, Director of Policy Jason Bedrick chats with Justin Owen from the Beacon Center of Tennessee. They discuss fostering school choice programs and creating more robust eligibility pools for ESAs in the state. Plus, Jason provides an update on a bill passed in Tennessee last […] -
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Blog PostLegal Updates with Leslie: Tennessee, Florida, Maryland and Montana
In today’s episode of EdChoice Chats, our Vice President of Legal Affairs Leslie Hiner discusses recent school choice litigation across the country, including an update on the Montana tax-credit scholarship case. Click to listen to the full podcast, or read the transcript below. LISTEN ON ITUNES LISTEN ON STITCHER Our Podcast Transcribed Jennifer […] -
Blog PostBRIEF: School Choice in the States, May 2019
LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION Florida Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 7070, a bill that creates a voucher program for 18,000 children from low- and middle-income families. The cap on enrollment increases by about 7,000 scholarships per year, and priority is given to children from low-income families (earning up to 185 percent of the federal poverty […] -
Blog PostHow Tennessee’s ESA Spending Compares to Other States
Last month, the Tennessee Department of Education released the final expense report summary and enrollment data for the first full year of the state’s education savings account (ESA) program – known as the Individualized Education Account (IEA) program. I was curious to see how proportional spending within this ESA program compared to ESA spending in […] -
Blog Post
New 2017 Survey Finds Military and Veteran Families Want More from America’s K–12 Education System
Our new research, Surveying the Military, is the first of its kind and methodology to delve deeper into former and current military families’ thoughts on K–12 education in America. This 2017 survey of 1,200 active-duty military servicemembers, veterans and their spouses aims to help policymakers and the public better understand this important population’s perspectives on […] -
Research ReportTennessee K–12 and School Choice Survey
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Blog PostNew Study Shows Public Schools Systematically Favor All Other Staff Over Teachers and Students
“Our children would be much better off if only politicians would give public schools more money, so they can pay teachers more and reduce class sizes.” If we asked for a show of hands for anyone who’s ever thought this, read it in the news or heard it from friends or neighbors, it’s a safe […] -
VideoWhat is an Education Savings Account?
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Blog PostWhat ESAs in K–12 Education Are and How They’re Different from Coverdell ESAs
Education savings accounts (ESAs) are a popular, relatively new innovation in K–12 education meant to expand parents ability to customize their children’s education. Arizona was the first state to create an ESA program for families in 2011. Since then, a handful of other states have followed suit. But even as ESAs pick up steam across […] -
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Research ReportBack to the Staffing Surge
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Blog PostBRIEF: School Choice in the States, April 2017
LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION National The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 19 in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, a case arising out of Missouri that could remove a major impediment to educational choice found in many state constitutions. So-called “Blaine Amendments” have restrictive language about state funds being used by religious institutions, […] -
ChartTennessee’s Individualized Education Account Program Participation
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Research Report2018 Schooling in America Survey
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Blog PostWould School Choice Segregate Well-Off Students?
This post originally appeared on Jay P. Greene’s Blog. The confirmation of Betsy DeVos as the nation’s Secretary of Education is shining a national spotlight on educational choice. It has also drawn attention from school choice skeptics and opponents and a flurry of criticisms about choice with it. A recent report by Halley Potter of […] -
Research ReportRenewing Our Cities
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Policy HandoutHow does school choice affect public schools?
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Blog PostHas School Choice Become a Purple America Issue?
Gallup, one of the most trusted household names in national polling, recently asked Americans whether they agreed, disagreed or didn’t know enough to have an opinion about 15 of President Trump’s proposals or actions. School choice was one of the issues, and on the surface, the results weren’t all that surprising: 59 percent of Americans […] -
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Blog PostWhat We Can Do About School Choice’s Supply-Side Problem
If you build it, they will come. A memorable line, a memorable scene. But what happens if you know they’ll come, and you just can’t get it built in a timely fashion? In one of our recent reports, The Private School Landscape, we tested the theory that educational choice programs that increase access to private […] -
VideoWhat Is School Choice?
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Blog PostStudy finds private schoolers express anti-Semitism, intolerance at lower rates than public schoolers
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other secular Jewish groups are taking a stand against school vouchers. Given that the explicit purpose of the ADL is to fight anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry, they are ostensibly weighing in on this issue because they believe that there is a relationship between public or private schooling and […] -
Research Report(No) Money in the Bank
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Blog PostNew Case Study Research Out of Santa Ana Finds School Choice Plays Role in Urban Renewal
Urban economic development resources are often focused on bringing jobs and affordable housing to downtown areas. In contrast, there has been very little consideration given to how public charter schools and private school choice programs might act as economic development catalysts. In their new report Renewing Our Cities: A Case Study on School Choice’s Role […] -
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Blog PostResearch Finds Higher Private School Share Directly Linked to Higher Test Scores, Stronger Human Rights Internationally
With the controversial nomination of Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education, the concept of school choice has received increasing attention. Supporters and opponents of the concept have made bold claims about the effect of such programs on student outcomes and society in general. Theoretically, increased access to private school choice could improve educational quality […] -
Blog PostDebunking Arguments Against School Choice: “Privatization” Drains Money From Already “Underfunded” Public Schools
I wish I had a nickel for each time I’ve read or heard something about how school choice siphons resources from public schools or how it will cripple a public education system. The rhetoric can be fierce at times. Some even have claimed that school choice advocates somehow want to or intend to topple public […] -
Research ReportMillennial Perspectives on K-12 Education and School Choice
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Blog PostThe Right Reasons for Supporting (or Opposing) School Choice
Note: A shortened version of this post was originally published on Education Next. We are at a critical point in the long history of education reform. The politicized issue of school choice has received sustained national attention since the election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The subsequent nomination of Betsy DeVos as […] -
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Blog PostWhy Shaming School Choice Parents Will Hurt Your Community
I find myself this year in the interesting position of kindergarten shopping for my 5-year-old daughter. Besides the expected “I can’t believe she’s this big already” nostalgia, there’s an element of confusion—even angst—as we try to find her best educational fit. This does not stem from a lack of good choices. We have at least […] -
Research ReportSurveying State Legislators
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Blog PostThe States Ranked by Spending on School Choice Programs
You may have noticed a new chart in this year’s edition of The ABCs of School Choice. That’s because we wanted to do something different and look at the aggregate spending on vouchers, tax-credit scholarships and education savings accounts (ESAs) in the context of national K–12 education spending. I took the total spending data over […] -
Blog PostBRIEF: School Choice in the States, January 2017
LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION Arizona SB 1431, a bill that would expand the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to near-universal eligibility, was introduced to the Arizona legislature last month. The bill was referred to both the Senate Education Committee and the Rules Committee. Arkansas HB 1222, a bill that would create a tax credit-funded education savings account program, […] -
Research ReportWhy Parents Choose
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Blog Post
How “The ABCs of School Choice” Handbook Can Work for You
Whether you’re a policymaker or a thought leader who’s interested in educational choice, our flagship publication is designed to help make your job easier. How can The ABCs of School Choice handbook work for you? Check out its features in the short demo below. And don’t forget to pre-order your print copy to have while […] -
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Blog PostThe 2017 EdChoice Yearbook Superlatives
The EdChoice team has put in its votes for this year’s educational choice yearbook superlatives, and these are our winners. Enjoy. Most Empowering Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program Our team weighed purchasing power, funding stream stability and the ability of parents to use their funds flexibly to determine the educational choice program that empowers the […] -
Blog PostU.S. States Ranked by Educational Choice Share, 2017
In my continual quest to provide the most comprehensive data possible, I have revamped how we look at the educational choice share, or EdChoice share. This year, the EdChoice share looks at what proportion of all K–12 students are enrolled in an education savings account (ESA), voucher or tax-credit scholarship program. To get this number, […] -
Research ReportA Win-Win Solution IV
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Blog PostAmerica’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Participation, 2017 Edition
Which of America’s school choice programs has the most participants? Which has the least? The latest edition of The ABCs of School Choice gives the most up-to-date information we have on program participation. Here, we’ve ranked the programs by how many participants they have, based on the most recent data available for each program at the […] -
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Blog PostAmerica’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Purchasing Power, 2017 Edition
We’ve given our readers an overview of educational choice programs across the nation this week with rankings based on eligibility and participation. But one major question still remains: How well are these programs funded? The best educational choice policies make as many children as possible eligible to participate, but also empower participants to truly afford their chosen educational […] -
Research ReportPursuing Innovation
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Blog PostStudent Story: Why I’m Thankful for Education Savings Accounts
Who am I? My name is Valerie McMurray My birth mother was a heroin addict and an alcoholic all throughout her pregnancy, and because of that, I was born prematurely at 3 pounds, 3 ounces on 3/30/03. (I think three should be my lucky number.) Her heavy use of drugs and alcohol caused me to have cerebral […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: Why You Should Stop Complaining About Schools Marketing Themselves to Families
From the minute we wake up to the minute we call it a day, we’re bombarded with marketing and advertising. Our phones, computers and televisions flicker with the latest deals. Our social media platforms intuitively know what brands we like best. Our brains are overloaded with sales pitches via billboards, bumper stickers, T-shirts, television and […] -
Research ReportThe Integration Anomaly
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Blog PostEducational Choice and Bridging the Political Divide
At the annual conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting this year, Dr. Steve Perry—a liberal charter school leader and passionate educational choice advocate—spoke about the poor state of K–12 education for families of color and those in poverty and inspired the audience with his ideas on how to bridge the political divide to advance […] -
Blog PostSchool Voucher Systems Across the Globe Make the Case for School Choice in the U.S.
The debate about school choice is often animated in the United States, but critics of the idea may be surprised to learn that school voucher programs are quite common in the rest of the economically developed world. Twenty-five Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, a club of mostly wealthy nations, have vouchers or […] -
Research ReportLatino Perspectives on K–12 Education & School Choice
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Blog PostA Teacher Who Approves of School Choice?
School choice. The term was demonized in my teacher credentialing courses and by my own mother, who had been teaching in public schools since she was 20 years old. Everyone was doing it, so I toed the line as well, but only for a short while. My Ah-Ha Moment My first teaching assignment was in […] -
Policy HandoutOn Educational Costs: Fixed, Quasi-Fixed and Variable Costs
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Blog Post
Breaking Down “A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Choice”
As educational choice grows, so does the evidence proving it works. In today’s release of the fourth edition of a Friedman Foundation flagship report—A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Choice—author Dr. Greg Forster says, “Twenty years ago, before this body of evidence existed, there was some excuse for making policy based on speculation, […] -
Blog PostEducation Market Failure? The Cost of Regulations on Private School Choice Programs
An Analysis of the Louisiana Scholarship Program Achievement Findings “The approach has been to regard any market failure, however minor, as a sufficient excuse for government intervention. The market has failed, therefore the government should step in. But this is a basic error, because it involves a double standard. There is not only such a […] -
Research ReportThe School Starter Checklist
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Blog PostHow the Friedman Foundation Estimates Educational Choice Program Eligibility
If you have ever seen a sentence on the Friedman Foundation website along the lines of “You Might Be Eligible For [a specific education savings account program],” or “You Might Not Be Eligible For [a specific voucher program],” then you have probably taken an educational choice eligibility test. The easier to design eligibility tests ask […] -
Blog PostStudying the Pursuit of Innovation: How Does Competition Affect K–12 Education?
It’s time to stop treating the problem of educational productivity as a grinding, eat-your-broccoli exercise. It’s time to start treating it as an opportunity for innovation and accelerating progress. – Former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, November 17, 2010 States have been charged with doing more with less in recent years, a state of affairs […] -
Research ReportPublic Rules on Private Schools
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Blog PostFriday Freakout: Who’s to Blame? Public School Districts’ Teacher Pension Dilemma
According to a recent article in the U.S. News & World Report, several big-city public school systems face immense fiscal challenges. The leading suspect? Public pensions. This answer shouldn’t be surprising. School pension costs have doubled over the last 10 years from $500 per student to more than $1,000 per student, and public schools are […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout Mailbag: Tennessee Edition
Lawmakers in Tennessee are currently considering legislation to create a modest school voucher program. Students from low-income families assigned to the “lowest-performing” district schools who had been enrolled in that school or were entering a Tennessee school for the first time would be eligible for scholarships worth up to the amount of per-pupil spending at […] -
Research ReportMore Than Scores
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Blog PostFriday Freakout: What to Do When Editorial Boards Don’t Fact Check ‘Expert’ Claims
Amidst the celebration of National School Choice Week, Indiana’s Journal Gazette published an editorial calling for an independent, empirical study of Indiana’s school voucher program. That is a fair ask and not actually the catalyst for today’s freakout. One very powerful word inspired my piece today: anywhere. In its editorial, the Journal Gazette team relied […] -
Blog PostTop Findings from the “Latino Perspectives” Survey
About one in four children in the U.S. today is Hispanic, and Latino children are one of the fastest growing demographics in the country, according to recent reports. As part of our 2015 Schooling in America Survey, we oversampled Latinos in an effort to better understand where this important community stands on education policies. How […] -
Research ReportThe Way of the Future
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Blog PostNew Research on School Segregation Shows Startling Trends
Six decades after the landmark decision of Brown v. Board of Education, many students still attend schools that are segregated by race or class. And this isn’t just a problem because greater integration is, in and of itself, a worthwhile goal for society. It’s a problem because research shows that African-American students, especially males, concentrated […] -
Blog PostWill School Choice Lead to Fewer Resources for Students Who Remain in Public Schools?
As recent polling data indicates, a significant majority of people believe that allowing parents to take the taxpayer funds dedicated for the education of their children to choose the best schools for them will lead to better outcomes for those children. But what about the students who remain in public schools? Are they harmed in […] -
Research Report
Tennessee K–12 and School Choice Survey
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Blog PostFriday Freakout: Does School Choice Increase Inequality?
When Nevada enacted the nation’s first nearly universal education savings accounts (ESAs), education reformers celebrated. ESAs empower families to tailor their children’s education to meet their individual learning needs and have the potential to unleash a wave of innovation. Others, however, have been less enthusiastic. Perhaps the most common concern is the one raised recently […] -
Blog Post‘We Exist’: One Public School Teacher and Board Member’s Journey Advocating for School Choice
When many people think of school choice, they think of programs that help students who live in struggling areas where the public schools are not always the best choice for a successful education. Loudoun County, Virginia however, is not one of those counties. The county schools are exceptional. The district boasts graduation rates one […] -
Blog PostSchool Choice Could Alleviate Worry from New Population Trend
In 2030, the population of people dependent upon our most expensive tax-funded services—education and senior healthcare—likely will be the highest it’s ever been in American history. Those increases in population will occur for a couple reasons: 1. Baby Boomers are retiring, and 2. The K-12 student population will continue to grow, exceeding that of the […] -
Research ReportMoms and Schools Survey
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Blog PostExplaining Tennessee’s ESA Bill
We are excited to soon welcome Tennessee to the school choice family. Tennessee is on the verge of joining Arkansas and Nevada, two of our nation’s newest school choice states, by becoming the 27th state to enact its first school choice program. Having worked with dedicated policymakers and parents in Tennessee for many years, we are […] -
Blog PostAre School Voucher Studies Biased from Front to Back?
Determining if a policy actually causes some impact on people’s lives is an incredibly difficult task. Humans are complex creatures, and the world that we live in has lots and lots of interconnected moving parts. It is a challenge to see how altering one small part of it, say by offering a student a voucher, […] -
Research ReportLessons for Tennessee from Florida’s Education Revolution
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Blog PostHow School Choice Can Help Public Schools in Tennessee
Faulty faucets that constantly drip can prove costly over time. In Tennessee, the legislative efforts to fix our education system via school choice have been dripping for the past five years. And indeed, that pattern not only is costing many children their futures, it’s adding up for taxpayers. As the Tennessee legislative session reaches high […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: Does School Choice Destroy Democracy in Education?
Today’s freakout comes to us from the comments section of The Atlantic article, “Saving School Choice Without Undermining Poor Communities,” and it concerns how implementing a school choice system would affect democracy in education by changing the ability of taxpayers and communities to influence public education. Check out how this conversation got started below. Kryten8 […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: Does Supporting School Choice Mean Hating Public School?
Does the Arizona legislature hate public schools? Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts says it does. Her proof: Senate Bill 1434, which would expand eligibility for Arizona’s education savings accounts (ESAs) to include students on district and charter school waiting lists. Under Arizona’s ESA law, the state takes 90 percent of the funds it would have […] -
Research ReportTennessee’s High School Dropouts
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Blog PostFriday Freakout: How to Debate School Choice with a Public School Superintendent
Today’s freakout comes to us from Twitter, where we were excited to chat with a public school superintendent who is an active fighter of school choice programs. Dr. Jason Glass is the Superintendent of Eagle County Schools in Colorado. Here are helpful resources to learn more about Eagle County as well as the local debate […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: What Parents of Special Needs Students Say to School Choice Naysayers
Today’s post features our first parent advocate-written Friday Freakout response. If you’re a parent and would like to contribute your story and opinions as well, please contact info@edchoice.org. Recently, a friend brought to my attention an article in the Hechinger Report about proposed school choice legislation for students with special needs in Mississippi. The title […] -
Blog PostProgressive to Progressive: Scare Tactics Won’t Work
Anyone who’s ever worked in politics can tell you it’s far easier to be against something than to be for something. When I was a carefree 20-something working as the Communications Director for the Indiana Democratic Party, I helped craft and deliver opposition messaging that helped a number of Democrats prevail on Election Day. It […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: Want an Educated Citizenry? Support School Choice
“[The] future of our economy depends on a well educated citizenry,” argued Karen Patton of the League of Women Voters (LWV) in Montgomery County, Indiana in a recent op-ed. She concluded:“democratic government depends upon [citizens’] informed and active participation.” I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I think it’s a shame that the LWV “opposes the […] -
Blog PostWhere Governors Stand on School Choice 2014
With the 2014 elections over—well, almost over—those interested in school choice may be wondering what the results mean for that education reform policy. Although news headlines have been focused primarily on the U.S. Senate, we wanted to take a closer look at the results from this year’s 36 state gubernatorial races given that education is—and […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: School Choice? But What About Transportation?
It’s rare to see truly novel arguments against school choice, so I’ve got to give Canadian journalist Jeremy Klaszus credit for creativity this week in his Metro News article “How Calgary’s streamed schools have devalued our neighbourhoods.” Klazsus is vexed because Calgary parents are choosing schools other than those that just happen to be closest […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: Teachers Are Tired of Bureaucracy Too
Today’s freakout comes to us from a frustrated teacher in the comments of “Half of All School District Employees Aren’t Teachers” on Ricochet. This veteran teacher said it best. Public schools have become increasingly burdened with regulations, including additional mandated testing, data processing, and reporting. Often times and especially in Cow Girl’s case, administrators with […] -
Research ReportUnderfunded Teacher Pension Plans
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Blog PostWant to Increase Public School Funding? Try School Choice
“We need to fully fund our school formula” has become a common refrain in statehouses across the country—including in Mississippi. There is a way policymakers can increase funds for public school students—and it’s as easy as E-S-A. The Great Recession left many states unable to appropriate enough money to fund public schools at the per-student […] -
Blog PostFriday Freakout: Is Education a Consumer Good?
In a response to this tweet last week, the Friedman Foundation questioned what makes education a public good and examined how school choice affects it in those terms. I have a different perspective, so stick with me. I’ve been giving a talk about disruptive technology and what it means as we work to improve educational […] -
Blog PostBreaking Down “Public Rules on Private Schools”
“Regulators, mount up!” That line from a popular western film, used later in a famous hip-hop song, is not generally thought of as one directed toward private schools. Indeed, many school choice opponents claim private schools are unregulated, particularly schools participating in voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs. But au contraire mon frères et sœurs. In examining […] -
Blog PostYou Can Disparage School Choice — As Long As You Ignore Facts, Thousands of Kids
A recent Huffington Post article took the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to task for how some MPCP students with special needs are being treated in their schools. First, to be clear, author Shayna Pitre cited an inaccurate number that voucher opponents have propped up for years when attacking the nation’s first modern school choice […] -
Blog PostGood Research vs. Bad Research
The holy grail of research is the causal claim. That is, if you can prove that A causes B, not that A is related to B or that A is similar to B, you can cure diseases, create rockets that leave our atmosphere, and design social programs that help people live better lives. In medicine, […] -
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Regulations on Tennessee Private Schools
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Constitutionality of School Choice in Tennessee
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Tennessee's Public and Home School Choice Options
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