Education ideas are like neckties: Don’t toss them when they go out of style, they always come back in.
Here’s my take on what we know after two decades of school voucher programs of various sizes around the country.
Prospects in D.C.? By a relatively small margin the policy and political insiders we survey monthly at Whiteboard think that some restoration of the D.C. voucher program will pass because it’s such a priority for House Speaker Boehner.
At Fordham Mike Petrilli is quick to the trigger and thinks that the Obama Administration’s official statement of policy on the D.C. voucher negotiation spells death for Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. ESEA didn’t seem very likely to begin with but when you read the actual SAP about the D.C. voucher bill it does not include the magic words, “The President’s senior advisors would recommend a veto” and it’s not worded as strongly as it could be or as some would probably like. As a general rule stuff like that matters, these things are worded carefully.
Update: Check out Sara Mead and Politics K-12 on this as well.
When will states realize that choice is a good thing. We have debated this to death, and even though it is working in many areas with even online public charter schools, and traditional school. It is good to know that research is showing the fears of many are not reality so far.