Charter schools/choice.

The small Persian Gulf nation of Qatar is home to a new charter-like public education experiment. Since 2004, more than 30 autonomous, government-financed schools have opened offering a variety of options to families accustomed to the rigid, highly centralized educational system dictated by the Ministry of Education. Thirteen additional schools will open this fall. The schools operate under three-year renewable contracts approved by a new government entity called the Supreme Education Council. The schools have considerable freedom in design and operation, but must meet standards in Arabic, English, mathematics, and science. [More-Education Week] (July 26) (paid subscription required)

Charter schools are gaining popularity in New Jersey. Thirty groups have applied to open charter schools in the state in the next two years. The application pool is the largest since 1997, the first year charter schools were approved in New Jersey. At least 50 charter schools will operate this fall, serving about 14,000 students. The U.S. Department of Education awarded a $10.1 million grant to New Jersey, one of nine states selected for funding. The money will go to both new and existing charter schools and is aimed at improving instruction, planning, and training. [More-New Jersey Star-Ledger] (July 26)

Charter schools in New York City are outperforming district schools in their neighborhoods, according to the preliminary release of an Education Department report. The report shows that, in 2005, students in 11 of 16 city charter schools outperformed students in district schools on the State's fourth grade English and mathematics exams. The 2004-2005 Annual Report on the Status of Charter Schools in New York State provides information on student enrollment, student performance, and finances for the 61 charter schools in operation during the 2004-2005 academic year. The report also makes recommendations for changes to the State's charter school law. [More-The New York Post] (July 25)(subscription required)

After experiencing success with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Bay School Program at Morrell Park Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore (MD), nine teachers banded together two years ago to form their own school rooted in the same environmentally focused curriculum. The Green School of Baltimore will open as a free, public charter school this fall with 60 students. The school will begin with single kindergarten, first, and second grade classes. Over the next three years, the school will add third, fourth, and fifth grade classes, and eventually aims to serve 240 students. The school is already wait-listing kindergarteners and is close to capacity in the other two grade levels. [More-The Examiner] (July 25)

Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) praised local education officials in New Orleans (LA) for their efforts to significantly restructure and improve their public schools after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "New Orleans has an opportunity out of this tragedy that no city in America has," said Senator Alexander, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development. Noting that 34 of 57 schools opening later this summer will be charters, the Senator added: "New Orleans will be the leading big city in America creating new charter schools. The idea of giving free market choice to families of New Orleans primarily benefits low-income people because people with money often (only) have those choices." [More-The Times-Picayune] (July 17)

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's charter schools initiative leverages the power of his office and his accountability as an elected official to make him the only mayor in the nation authorized to create and oversee charter schools. This unique role helped Mayor Peterson win "The Innovations in American Government Award" from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The award is administered in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government and recognizes local, State, and Federal programs that are creative, effective, meet a significant need, and can be transferred to other jurisdictions. The award comes with a $100,000 prize, intended to help winning programs disseminate their model to other areas of the country. Mayor Peterson's program earned recognition for its novelty, strict evaluation of charter schools (both before and after they are approved), and track record. [More-The Indianapolis Star] (July 10)

Pennsylvania expanded its existing corporate Education Tax Credit Program by $10 million. Two-thirds of the increase will go toward scholarships that will expand educational options for more than 6,000 students in the State. The remaining third will go toward education improvement organizations. Currently more than 27,000 students in Pennsylvania participate in the tax credit program, along with more than 2,200 businesses. [More-Alliance for School Choice] (July 3)

Arizona legislators recently passed school choice measures that would allow low-income, disabled, and foster-care children to receive education scholarships. Each measure provides families with funds that they may use to pay tuition at a school of their choosing, whether it is public, private, or charter. [More-The Arizona Republic] (July 1) (Editorial)

Governor Donald L. Carcieri signed into law the Rhode Island budget for Fiscal Year 2007. The budget includes a tax credit program that the Governor proposed to encourage businesses to contribute to scholarship funds for non-public schools. The tax credit is aimed at providing students and their families with more school choice. [More-State of Rhode Island Office of the Governor] (June 30)

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has signed the Educational Opportunities Act (EOA), which will enable thousands of children in the state to attend a school of their parents' choice. The program establishes a 65 percent tax credit for individuals who make contributions to approved school tuition organizations, which distribute scholarships to families. Families then use these scholarships at a school of their choosing. To qualify for the program, families must have an income that does not exceed 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. School tuition organizations must spend 90 percent of funds raised on scholarships, and the scholarships may not exceed tuition at the chosen private school. The program is capped at $2.5 million for 2006, but the cap will rise to $5 million for subsequent years. [More-The Milton & Rose Friedman Foundation] (June 2)