FEBRUARY 1, 2012 – Welcome to the first edition in 2012 of Turning the Tide, the monthly newsletter of the American Federation for Children. We hope you had a great end to 2011 – we know we sure did! As the “Year of School Choice,” 2011 will be remembered as the year education reformers made huge strides in our effort to improve education in America. With your help, we expect 2012 to be even more successful! We’ve already experienced state and national efforts to make school choice an even larger priority in 2012, and that was especially true last week. Read more to find out how AFC helped celebrate the week, learn about exciting news from the Indiana legislature and school choice expansion in Louisiana, and get information on more events happening around the country. We told you, 2012 is already in full swing!

January's Champions for School Choice
New Mexico State Senator Pete Campos (D) and New Mexico Representative Antonio Maestas (D)

A month into 2012 and already, two Democrats are leading the way in their legislature’s effort to pass school choice legislation. It must be a sign of things to come! Not only is New Mexico State Senator Pete Campos an education professional by trade, but he has been a member of the school choice movement for many years. In 2011, he led the fight in New Mexico by supporting Senate Bill 433, which would establish tax credits for scholarships allowing low-income students to attend public or private school of their parent’s choice. And, now he’s back at it again. As the lead sponsor of SB88, the Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act, Senator Campos refuses to give up on the children of New Mexico. And, he’s not the only one. Working with others in the New Mexico legislature, Rep. Maestas has been a champion of school choice by introducing school choice legislation in the House. Similar to the bill introduced by Senator Campos in the New Mexico Senate, Rep. Maestas’ bill would provide parents more options when choosing the school that best fits the needs of their children. The legislation is a great step toward overall education reform in New Mexico and we commend the dual efforts of Democratic legislators from separate chambers in putting kids first. For their strong support for education reform, making this important legislation a priority at the beginning of the year, and serving as example for legislators nationwide, we’re proud to name State Sen. Pete Campos and Rep. Antonio Maestas as Champions for School Choice.

School Choice Week: A Huge Success!

As you probably know, we just concluded National School Choice Week, seven days dedicated to promoting the ideas and achievements behind the school choice movement. From January 22-28, over 400 events took place celebrating school choice, and we were in on the fun too, joining forces with our friends at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the Institute for Justice to host an event in Washington, D.C! And, most importantly, the Alliance for School Choice released the School Choice Yearbook 2011–12! A compendium of the nation’s most accurate data on school voucher and scholarship tax programs, the Yearbook chronicles the past year’s choice related activities, trends, and events. Download the full Yearbook here (PDF).

Gubernatorial Gabfest for Reform

New years are marked not only by cold days and bouts of snow, but also a look towards the future, courtesy our nation’s governors. Each outlines their goals and expectations for the next legislative cycle in their State of the State addresses. So far, a number of governors have included strong language for education reform in their respective speeches. It was refreshing to hear from both long-time supporters of school choice and the more recent proponents of educational options. Governors from all over the country pegged 2012 as a year for stronger, more sweeping education reforms. Here’s what a few of them said:

“If we continue to create a culture of excellence in our schools, Florida will merit a full chapter in that history that describes the reawakening of a mighty, prosperous nation. We can do this. And, we begin to do this by building on the successes of last session when we increased school choices for Florida’s parents.”

– Florida Governor Rick Scott

"In America, you do not have a right to have everything your neighbor has, you do not have a right to a big house or a fancy car and you do not have a right to redistribute your neighbor's wealth. But I would suggest that we long ago decided that every kid does have a right to a quality education from an excellent teacher. And by getting a good education, kids then do have the opportunity to pursue their dreams." 

– Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

“What we’ve been doing isn’t working for children in failing districts, it is unfair to the other 557 school districts and to our state’s taxpayers, who spend more per pupil than almost any state in America. Basic human decency and simple common sense say it is time for a different and better approach. The tools to give our children and their parents who are confronted with failing schools the chance for a better outcome are before you…

Opportunity should not be offered to only those in an excellent school district or with parents who have the money to release their children from the prison that is a failing school. Let’s pass the opportunity scholarship act now.” 

– New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

You can read other State of the State addresses that feature education reform on our blog, School Choice Now!

News for Hoos(iers)

We here at TTT are going to be watching the Super Bowl this weekend as the people of Indianapolis show off their great city to the country. But that’s not the only thing they’re excited about. They’re also pumped for the thousands of parents with children enrolled in Indiana’s school choice programs across the state, who received great news last week! A judge upheld Indiana’s school voucher law, rejecting arguments from opponents that the program unconstitutionally uses public funds to support religion. The new statewide Indiana voucher program had the largest first-year enrollment of any voucher program –nearly 4,000 students – and serves as an example for other states to follow in  creating expansive, highly-quality school choice programs. With the judge’s ruling, Indiana’s low- to middle-income parents will continue to have the choice to send their children to a school that best fits their needs. This is a huge victory for parents in Indiana and around the country!

Bobby Goes Big in the Bayou

A lot of things are bigger in Louisiana, and that includes Governor Bobby Jindal’s recently-released education reform plan! Outlined in his proposal are three pillars for reform: Putting a highly effective teacher in every classroom; giving parents and students an equal opportunity in education; and giving school leaders more flexibility to spend their dollars on policies that improve student achievement. We salute Governor Jindal for making education reform a key component to his 2012 plans for Louisiana! By recognizing the potential for kids in his state, he is setting an example for every state’s chief executive. We’re looking forward to watching his reforms take place over the next year! You can read Governor Jindal’s full remarks about the new plan here.

National School Choice Policy Summit: SAVE the DATE!

The American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice are hosting the third annual National Policy Summit, "School Choice Now: Breakthrough Victories for Children," on May 3 and 4, 2012 in Jersey City, N.J. If our last two Summits were any indication, you will definitely want to be there! The event connects policymakers, supporters, and opinion leaders to discuss how we can best provide educational opportunities to the children who need them most. The 2012 Summit will begin with a luncheon on Thursday, May 3, and end the following day with a closing lunch on Friday, May 4. We’ve already made a big speaker announcement, and trust us when we say there’s more where that came from. For more information or to register, click here!

Thanks for starting 2012 off with such amazing enthusiasm and energy for the education reform movement. We have a lot of work to do, and we couldn’t do it without supporters like you. Stay updated with all things AFC through our blog, Facebook Page, Twitter, and of course, the very newsletter you’re reading right now. Be sure to invite your friends to join in on the action too. They can sign up for all our publications here.

Until next month, we’ll keep fighting for school choice in your state and across the country. We hope you will too!

 www.federationforchildren.org