Backgrounder posted April 25, 2005 by Krista Kafer
Choices in Education: 2005 Progress Report
School choice is in high demand and growing.
Twenty years ago, few states had policies or programs allowing
parents the freedom to make choices in their children's education.
Today, 11 states and the District of Columbia have state-funded
scholarship programs or provide tax relief for education expenses
or contributions to scholarship funds. Most states…
WebMemo posted March 9, 2005 by Krista Kafer, Jonathan Butcher
Small Steps Toward Smarter Education Spending
The President's FY
2006 budget request eliminates or consolidates funding for
education programs that have achieved their original purposes,
duplicate other programs, may be carried out with more flexible
state formula grants, or involve activities that are better or more
appropriately supported with state, local, or private resources.
While attempts at fiscal…
WebMemo posted September 8, 2004 by Krista Kafer
Girl Power: Why Girls Don't Need the Women's Educational Equity Act
Soon the House of Representatives will vote on an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2005 (H.R.5006) that would appropriate $3 million for the Women's Educational Equity Act. The amendment by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) will fund a program that…
Backgrounder posted July 6, 2004 by Krista Kafer
No Child Left Behind: Where Do We Go From Here?
Will
Rogers once said, "If you ever injected truth into politics, you
would have no politics." This is especially true when it comes to
education and the federal law known as the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB). But truth--always a rare commodity--is growing rarer still
as the nation approaches November, and discussion about this
complex and bipartisan law is…
Backgrounder posted May 4, 2004 by Krista Kafer
A Head Start for Poor Children?
As
the 39-year-old federal Head Start program once again comes before
Congress for reauthorization, several unanswered questions that
have dogged the program since its inception should be considered.
First, does it work?
Twenty-two years after the creation of the
preschool program for low-income children, its cofounder, Edward
Zigler, acknowledged, "We simply…
Backgrounder posted April 26, 2004 by Krista Kafer
Refocusing Higher Education Aid on Those Who Need It
Under the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (HEA), $103.6 billion in grants and loans was
made available to students in 2003.[1] The law, which is
due for reauthorization, offers guaranteed loans, grants, and
support services to students and their families, as well as aid to
institutions. Over half of the full-time undergraduates attending
four-year colleges and…
Legal Memorandum posted March 19, 2004 by Krista Kafer
School Choice in 2003: An Old Concept Gains New Life
Author's Note: On January
23, 2004, the District of Columbia joined 11 states or districts
that have voucher or tax credit parental choice laws. In fewer than
20 years, the nation has gone from two such programs to 12. In
those two decades, 40 states and the District adopted charter
school laws, a quarter initiated public school choice open
enrollment laws, and home…
WebMemo posted January 26, 2004 by Jonathan Butcher, Krista Kafer
Congress Establishes First Federal Voucher Program for D.C. Students
Acting at the
request of Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams and other city
officials, parents, and students, Congress passed the first federal
voucher program for students in the District of Columbia as part of
the 2004 appropriations omnibus. Although these vouchers will
provide a little over half of the per-pupil expense in public
schools, research shows…