Senate Again Fails on School Choice for Families
Earlier this week, Virginia’s senators once again had the opportunity to provide families access to greater educational options. Sadly, for Virginia’s families and students, the majority of those senators stood with the teacher’s union instead of with families.
HB1965 was up before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. We were very honored that Virginia Walden Ford and her sister, Harrietta Fowler, both of DC Parents for School Choice, made the trip to Richmond to testify in support of school choice for families. Having fought so hard for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, and now seeing its incredible impact for thousands of students in the District, Ms. Ford and Ms. Fowler know first-hand the power of school choice in a child’s life.
Many of our other partners here at School Choice Virginia also spoke on behalf of the bill: the Virginia Family Foundation, the Virginia Catholic Conference and the Old Dominion Association of Christian Schools.
Sadly, most of the Committee did not seem interested in the broad, statewide support for school choice. Even when the patron of the bill, Delegate Saxman, noted that the Commonwealth already has in place a $100 million tax credit program for land preservation, and a $60 million tax credit for one of the state’s tobacco companies, the majority of the committee did not seem to think a small investment in education was a similarly worthy investment.
We do wish to thank Senators Stosch, Stolle, Norment and Watkins for their “no” votes on the motion to pass the bill by indefinitely (kill the bill).
The Family Foundation has also written about the Committee hearing on their blog, as well as having videotaped the hearing. We appreciate all their work on this issue and for allowing Virginians the opportunity to see how the Senators voted.
Even though the bill may have been defeated this year, we are more excited than ever about our opportunities moving forward. We have been so encouraged by all the new folks we have had signing up on the website and our Facebook group, and we are only going to build on this momentum in the next year!
Stay tuned to how you can get involved and what you can do to help bring greater access to educational options for Virginia’s families!
Big Day for School Choice in Virginia!
In a very exciting final House vote today, both school choice measures we told you about yesterday were approved with bipartisan support in the House of Delegates!
- Delegate Chris Saxman’s HB1965: Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC) passed 50-47
- Delegate Bill Janis’s HB2104: Students with Disabilities Tuition Assistance Grant passed 59-39
We are very pleased that a majority of members of the House voted in favor of giving Virginia families control of their children’s education and allow students access to increased educational options! Please join us in thanking these Delegates for their support.
Another School Choice Victory- Get involved!
As we reported last week, 2 key school choice bills are moving forward in the House of Delegates.
Today, these two measures came before the full House of Delegates on 2nd reading- and once again, BOTH bills passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support!
- Delegate Chris Saxman’s HB1965: Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC) passed on voice vote
- Delegate Bill Janis’s HB2104: Students with Disabilities Tuition Assistance Grant passed 58-33
The bills have one more reading before the House when they are on 3rd reading tomorrow.
If you have not already done so, we also invite you to visit our new Action Center, to find out how you can make your voice heard in support of these two school choice measures.
ALEC: “State education rankings released for 15th straight year, again show spending does not correlate with student results”
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has again released their Annual Report Card on American Education. And yet again they have found that spending does not correlate with student results.
State education rankings released for 15th straight year, again show spending does not correlate with student results.
February 3, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C.—A majority of students in American public schools failed to meet proficiency levels in fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and reading, and SAT and ACT scores stagnated, despite decades-long increases in public-school spending, according to a new report by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Using nationally recognized test results, the ALEC Report Card on American Education ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia accordingly, one being the best and 51 the worst. Minnesota placed first in the unique ranking, Washington, D.C. last.
“The Report Card on American Education clearly shows there is no correlation between educational dollars spent and student achievement in our traditional public school system,” said Andrew T. LeFevre, author of the report and executive director of the Pennsylvania-based REACH Foundation. “At some point, state policymakers must ask themselves if more of the same is going to produce a different result.”
School Choice Victory!
As we told you earlier today, 2 key school choice bills were up in the full House Appropriations Committee.
We are thrilled to report that BOTH bills passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support!
Delegate Chris Saxman’s HB1965: Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC) passed on an 18-5 vote
Delegate Bill Janis’s HB2104: Students with Disabilities Tuition Assistance Grant (which included Delegate John O’Bannon’s HB1985: Autism Tuition Assistance Grant) passed on a 20-3 vote
Please join us in thanking all of the members who voted in favor of these very important measures for Virginia families!
The bills now go to the full House for a vote.
School Choice Bills up TODAY in House Appropriations
We reported yesterday that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education voted 5-2 in favor of Delegate Chris Saxman’s HB1965: Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC), and voted 6-1 vote Delegate Bill Janis’s HB2104: Students with Disabilities Tuition Assistance Grant, into which they rolled Delegate John O’Bannon’s HB1985: Autism Tuition Assistance Grant.
This afternoon these bills will now be considered by the full Appropriations Committee.
We encourage you to contact the members of the House Appropriations Committee to urge their support of these important school choice measures!
Myths versus Facts
Opponents of school choice are often all too familiar with the “myths” about school choice, something they too often confuse with facts. Even in Richmond when they stand up to oppose legislation that would give families access to greater educational options, they often start using using the myths for reasons, while ignoring the facts.
At School Choice Virginia, one of our missions is to help educate folks on the facts about school choice. The national organization, All Children Matter, has compiled information to help dispell some of the most common myths surrounding school choice.
Their full list is available online here, but some highlights include:
Myth: School choice drains money from public schools, leaving them under-funded.
Answer: Quite the opposite is the case. In most cases, when a student leaves a public school due to a choice program that student’s per-pupil funding remains intact or is only partially removed from the public school. Through school choice, public schools are aided by reduced overcrowding and a reduction in fiscal burdens.
Myth: School choice means abandoning public schools.
Answer: Public schools are a treasured part of American society and, in many cases, offer a quality education for our children. School choice does not always mean that people have to choose private or religious schools. Public schools, including charter schools, are an important part of the school choice movement. Sometimes, choosing a different public school is the best option for a child.
The school choice movement seeks better schools, whether traditional public, charter public, private or religious. The problem is that many schools are failing. Some families have the financial freedom to move to a better public school district or attend a private school, but many more families do not. School choice is the just Answer to this problem.
Myth: School choice, especially tax credits and vouchers, is just another way to benefit the wealthy and help them subsidize their children’s education.
Answer: The wealthy already have school choice. Financial considerations are much less of an issue for them than finding the best school. The only families without school choice are the financially burdened, especially those who cannot afford to move to a better school district. The school choice movement desires to give these families the same freedom that the wealthy already have.
Updated: House Appropriations Subcommittee Approves HB1965, HB2104 and HB1985
School Choice Virginia Applauds Legislators for Supporting Educational Choices
RICHMOND – Today the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education voted 5-2 in favor of Delegate Chris Saxman’s HB1965: Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC). The Subcommittee also approved on a 6-1 vote Delegate Bill Janis’s HB2104: Students with Disabilities Tuition Assistance Grant, into which they rolled Delegate John O’Bannon’s HB1985: Autism Tuition Assistance Grant. The bills will now be considered by the full Appropriations Committee.
Delegate Saxman’s EITC legislation is modeled after successful school choice programs in Pennsylvania and Florida, and creates individual and business tax credits for donations made to qualifying scholarship organizations, which award scholarships for students to attend the public or private school of their choice. The legislation also provides the tax credits for donations to public school foundations. Similar measure have been approved by the House of Delegates in each of the past four legislative sessions.
The Tuition Assistance Grant programs introduced by Delegates Janis and O’Bannon would provide tuition assistance up to $36,000 per year for attendance at an eligible private school for any K-12 student as defined by the Board of Education in its Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia who is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Ohio has implemented a similar program that has proved to be very successful.
“We are very pleased with today’s favorable votes on these educational choice measures by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education,“ said School Choice Virginia Executive Director Whitney Duff. “These three bills are modeled on programs that have been demonstrated to work in other states, giving families access to greater educational options, improving educational opportunities for all students, and generating measurable cost-savings for states.
“We thank Delegates Janis, O’Bannon and Saxman for their leadership on these school choice measures, and we thank the members of the subcommittee for their support of these bills that will improve education for all Virginia students. Rather that trap students into a one-size-fits-all model, we encourage the full Appropriations Committee to embrace choice as an educational reform that can give all students in the Commonwealth the hope for a brighter future.”
School Choice Virginia is an organization working to expand educational choices for Virginia families to ensure every child has the opportunity to receive the education that best meets their unique and individual needs. As a 501(c)4, School Choice Virginia is non-partisan and can support specific legislation. In addition, School Choice Virginia works increase awareness of school choice initiatives and to demonstrate to elected leaders on all levels the broad-based support for educational reforms. Visit us online at www.SchoolChoiceVA.com.
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“Choice in education is the key”
The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) has this editorial from Florida up on their website today.
The editorial, “Choice in education is the key,” concludes:
Students perform best when they and their parents are able to select the schools they will attend. They may be traditional public schools for most, charter schools for some and private or homeschools for others.
The growth in the number of legitimate options in education is encouraging and should be promoted both locally and nationwide.
We agree, and hope that Virginia legislators will work to encourage more options in education for students here in the Commonwealth.
Did you know?
- In Virginia, as in much of the country, educational freedom only exists for those who can afford it. For most families, this means they have no choice in how or where they educate their children. Choice puts parents and families back in control of educational decisions, not bureaucrats.
- A recent survey conducted by the Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy found that more than 76 percent of voters in Petersburg, Richmond and Norfolk neighborhoods overwhelmingly support school choice for parents in their school division.
- A December 2008 Mason Dixon poll found that 69 percent of Virginians support school choice tax credit proposals. 62% support in Hampton Roads, 70% in Northern Virginia, 74% in Southside and Southwest Virginia.
- Rather than “drain” money from public schools- school choice programs save money and often include significant increases in overall education funding. Florida recently studied their scholarship tax credit program and found it saved the state $1.49 for every dollar invested in the program.
- Nationally, public school per-pupil expenditures increased 63 percent from 1983 to 2005, when adjusted for inflation- while student achievement remained mediocre and graduation rates remained stagnant.
- By reducing burdens on public schools, we can reduce class sizes- without the costs of hiring additional teachers- as well as reduce the construction burden on localities as they try to keep up with enrollment growth.
