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Abstract: The expansion of charter schools-publicly funded, yet in direct competition with traditional public schools-has emerged as a favored response to poor performance in the education sector. While a large and growing literature has sought to estimate the impact of these schools on student achievement, comparatively little is known about demand for the policy itself. Using election returns from three consecutive referenda on charter schools in Washington State, we weigh the relative importance of school quality, community and school demographics, and partisanship in explaining voter support for greater school choice. We find that low school quality-as measured by standardized tests-is a consistent and modestly strong predictor of support for charters. However, variation in performance between school districts is more predictive of charter support than variation within them. At the local precinct level, school resources, union membership, student heterogeneity, and the Republican vote share are often stronger predictors of charter support than standardized test results.

"A bill that would require charter schools to win voter approval in their communities was voted out of the Assembly Education Committee today, after a number of charter school advocates testified that requiring a referendum could divide communities and doom some schools."

"The Montgomery County Public Schools system here has a highly regarded program for evaluating teachers, providing them extra support if they are performing poorly and getting rid of those who do not improve. The program, Peer Assistance and Review - known as PAR - uses several hundred senior teachers to mentor both newcomers and struggling veterans. If the mentoring does not work, the PAR panel - made up of eight teachers and eight principals - can vote to fire the teacher. "

"New Jersey's Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf, while testifying before the State Senate Budget Committee on Monday, May 9, 2011, told Senator Barbara Buono that the New Jersey electorate should not have the opportunity to vote for Charter Schools or the monetary appropriations that support them. Senator Buono remarked that, given that charter schools are funded with public dollars, the decision to provide such funding should be made by taxpayers."

"New York state is weighing whether to prohibit high-school teachers from grading their own students' Regents exams. The Board of Regents, which sets education policy for the state, is set to vote next week on the ban. "

"Today, America's teachers are so disillusioned with the Obama administration that their participation in the 2012 is a big question mark. Most teachers I know may ultimately vote for Barack Obama, but they will do so only because they fear the Republican candidate will do more damage, not because they think the Obama administration's policies are moving the nation in the right direction. When it comes to education policy, most teachers and professors see the Obama administration as promoting national initiatives which strip teachers of their autonomy, make them scapegoats for the nation's problems, and promote formulas for assessing teacher quality that will, if accepted, turn reduce instruction at all levels to memorization and test prep. They are very likely to sit out the next presidential campaign unless the administration switches gears and embraces a teacher centered strategy for improving American's schools and universities."

Providence teachers on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve a three-year contract that guarantees that every fired teacher will be returned to the district in exchange for substantial concessions.

On Wednesday, August 17, the Department of Education's Panel for Education Policy will vote on a $120 million two year contract with telecom giant Verizon to wire our schools.   There are at least five good reasons to oppose this contract ( see below.)

A group of executives who represent around 300 of America's largest corporations has labored in the shadows since the early 1970s to promote free market policies to state legislators. The cabal met this week in New Orleans' Mariott hotel and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was the luncheon speaker at the mid-week gathering. The influence which the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has demonstrated includes virtual destruction of public employee collective bargaining rights, voter identification requirements that appear to be aimed at restrictive voting, and most importantly a frontal attack on public education.

Please join us for Education Reform Idol, where leaders from five cutting-edge states will battle for the honor of "Reformiest State 2011." This Fordham Institute panel will pit Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin against one another in what should prove to be the biggest education policy event this summer. The winner will be determined by a vote of the in-person and online audience.

After thousands of striking Verizon workers and city teachers held a rally in Lower Manhattan, the mostly mayor-appointed Panel for Educational Policy voted 9-4 on the Department of Education's $120 million contract with the wireless communications giant.

The Panel for Educational Policy on Wednesday approved a $120 million contract with a Verizon subsidiary to provide phone and Internet services for two years at city schools, despite calls for postponing the vote and boisterous protests over Verizon's possible role in federal theft charges against an Education Department consultant.

Tonight, the Panel for Educational Policy will vote on contracts for six Educational Partnership Organizations to take over a group of low-performing schools through the federal "restart" model. One of the restart schools is Banana Kelly High School, which EdVox wrote about last May. Banana Kelly High School is a small high school in the Bronx that seemed to have been set up to fail by the NYC Department of Education (DOE) which assigned rising populations of the highest-needs students and an increasing enrollment to Banana Kelly, yet allocated the school a declining budget. This year, the school was placed on NY State's list of Persistently Lowest-Achieving schools.

A Board of Regents committee unanimously agreed on Monday to appoint an independent investigator to search for shortcomings in how the state responds to complaints of educator cheating on standardized tests.

Earlier this week it was reported that the Michigan Legislature had gone "berserk." Today, they continued their "berserk" assault on workers in Michigan by pushing forward with a series of bills that strip workers of basic protections. On a close 55-53 vote today, the MI House passed HB 4929 which prohibits the deduction of union dues by public school employers. The bill was fast-tracked through the House after being introduced Tuesday. I don't know about you, but I'm glad they took the time to think through legislation that will impair the ability of teachers to collectively bargain and protect their rights and the conditions of their classrooms. Tell me how this improves education?  Tell me how this creates jobs?  Tell me how this "puts more money in my pocket?"

One by one, teachers at public elementary schools here have been voting to buck their own union and take Mayor Rahm Emanuel up on an unusual offer: to accept bonus pay in exchange for waiving union contract provisions and keeping children at some schools longer each day.

On a largely bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives this week approved legislation aimed at expanding and promoting charter schools throughout the country. The Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act, passed 364-54, and now goes to the Senate for further consideration. Although the bill, designated as H.R. 2218, had wide backing from both parties, including "ayes" from Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., skepticism about the effectiveness of charter schools looms over the legislation. Organizations opposed to the bill as it currently reads include the National Education Association, the nation's largest teacher organization, the American Association of School Administrators, and Parents Across America.

The board voted unanimously to change Cincinnati Public Schools into a "district of choice," which will offer a variety of schools and educational options to students in grades K-8.

Sweeney will not allow votes on overhaul of teacher merit pay and voiding seniority.

Last week in this space, I speculated about the most influential educator in America. Although I put forth more than a half dozen names, most respondents 'voted' for Diane Ravitch, the historian/policymaker/apostate whose book, The Death and Life of the Great American Public School, is a best seller.