vouchers

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved a new set of academic standards Tuesday for private schools participating in Louisiana's expanded voucher program.

Private schools participating in Louisiana's new voucher program for low-income students will have to clear roughly the same academic bar that public schools do in order to keep accepting taxpayer dollars, according to a new accountability plan proposed by the state's top education official.

Do the dollars we spend on vacation really count? Most of us spending money on cheap trinkets and overpriced T-shirts don't believe they do — until we get the credit-card bills. Similarly, it appears state lawmakers believe that the money earmarked for tax-credit programs don't really count, either.

A Pennsylvania state lawmaker whose proposal for a voucher-like tax credit that is designed to help students leave the state's worst schools said Monday that those schools would benefit, too.

Parents have until Friday to submit applications for school transfers under Louisiana's new voucher program. State Department of Education officials report that they have received more applications than they expected, topping 6,000.

Bill Vogel has grave concerns about the future of public education in Florida as he ends nine years at the helm of one of Florida's highest-achieving school districts.

The Louisiana Association of Educators says it also will file a lawsuit to throw out a set of education changes that Gov. Bobby Jindal pushed and state lawmakers passed.

Louisiana is embarking on the nation's boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children.

Tens of thousands of North Carolina public school students would leave for private classrooms if they got tuition help of up to $4,000 a year funded by corporations able to donate their money instead of paying state taxes, an analysis showed for legislation introduced Wednesday.