Opinion: Pandemic makes need for school choice clear
‘The point is not to determine the merits of public education versus private education. Why can’t we champion both?’
There are 21 article(s) tagged School vouchers:
‘The point is not to determine the merits of public education versus private education. Why can’t we champion both?’
Kelsey, who represents Germantown, Cordova and East Memphis. will serve as chairman of the senate education committee.
Metro Nashville and Shelby County challenged the law because it applies only to their communities without giving their local governments or voters a say.
‘The cries that the ESA program will gut classroom funding and leave the most vulnerable students with fewer resources is antithetical to both the purpose and benefits of the ESA program.’
In one of the legislature’s most high-profile races, Jerri Green is considered a serious challenger to Republican Rep. Mark White, chairman of the House Education Committee. They are polar opposites on the issue of vouchers.
Gov. Bill Lee expects the voucher rollout, which was halted when a Nashville judge overturned the 2019 law in May, will be resurrected in 2021. The Tennessee Court of Appeals is expected to rule this fall on the state’s appeal.
For educators, the retreat marked a disappointing end to a budget process that was so promising in February when Gov. Bill Lee asked the legislature for nearly $650 million in new dollars for K-12 education.
A Davidson County chancellor in early May ruled the voucher program unconstitutional, saying the Legislature forced the program on Shelby and Metro Nashville without local approval.
As lawmakers begin returning to the Capitol, they’ll face cratering revenues and the need to make deep cuts to Tennessee’s spending plan.
Tennessee’s Education Savings Account program drew support in Republican-controlled subcommittees Tuesday, May 26, 2020, with hardly a word.
Gov. Bill Lee said the State Attorney General has filed a request for the Tennessee Supreme Court to take the Education Savings Account case and allow it to move forward while the case is on appeal.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals rejected the state's efforts to keep working on the Education Savings Account program while it's under appeal and set an Aug. 5 hearing for arguments, which could make it difficult for the program to get the go-ahead in time to start offering vouchers this year.
Smaller class sizes, class time spent teaching instead of dealing with behavioral problems, and a rigorous college-prep curriculum were important to me. But times change, and different students thrive in different environments.
Gov. Bill Lee called the day the House passed the school voucher law last year an “historic day.” If so, the bar for historic days is lower than a salamander’s belly.
Davidson County Chancellor Anne C. Martin also scolded the state education department for its “mixed messaging” in continuing to take applications for the voucher program without alerting parents about the status of the legal case.
Davidson County Chancellor Anne C. Martin has struck down the state’s private school voucher law, known as the Education Savings Account (ESA) Pilot Program.
One lawsuit over education savings accounts, or vouchers, pits the state against Metro Nashville and Shelby County governments, as well as Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Another was filed on behalf of parents in Memphis and Nashville.
Even as the new education voucher program is mired in a court battle and public schools may lose more funding if the coronavirus pandemic causes a recession, the state education department is accepting applications through April 29 via an online site.
Chancellor Anne C. Martin indicated that she likely will allow three pro-voucher groups representing parents from Memphis and Nashville to become part of the case.
Billed as a “one-stop shop” for parents, Tennessee School Finder focuses on school choices for families zoned to Shelby County Schools, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and the state-run Achievement School District.
Gov. Bill Lee's education voucher program is taking hits from all directions as legislators raise questions.
About 21 results