Commentary: School Choice’s Rapid Post-Pandemic Expansion Sets Up a Big Pass/Fail Test for Education

A growing number of states are adopting a comprehensive new type of school choice program that would pose a threat to public schools if many students were to leave them for a private education. 

Eight states – including Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and West Virginia – have approved “universal” or near-universal school choice laws since 2021. They open the door completely to school choice by making all students, including those already in private schools and from wealthy families, eligible for about $7,000 to $10,000 in state funding each year for their education. 

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Lawsuit Targets Michigan’s Unconstitutional Restriction on Public Funds Paying for Private Education

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation partnered with Bursch Law to file a lawsuit alleging Michigan’s restriction on the use of public funds to pay for private education is unconstitutional.

Five Michigan families and the Parent Advocates for Choice in Education (PACE) Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the rights of Michigan parents to provide educational opportunities for their children, joined the lawsuit after conventional public schools frustrated them after the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiff Jessie Bagos’s school only provided virtual school for her young children for much of the last school year. She wanted other options for her twin boys starting kindergarten instead of sitting in front of a screen.

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Parents Attend Thales Academy-Franklin Informational Meeting, Learn About the School’s High Quality, Affordable Education Option

  FRANKLIN, Tennessee – A crowd of about 50 parents,  grandparents, and Tennessee Star Report All-Star panelists came out to hear first hand the announcement from Thales Academy founder Bob Luddy on Tuesday night that Thales Academy-Franklin will open its doors beginning in July of 2020, and will offer Middle Tennessee parents an affordable and high-quality education option for their children. Luddy broke the news that the campus will be located at the Gate Church on Carothers Parkway, the location of the evening’s meeting. Thales Academy has purchased the building and is beginning renovations to convert the church building to an effective home for its K-3 campus. Thales Academy-Franklin will be the first school in Tennessee added to Thales Academy’s successful roster of eight current campuses in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. Founder Bob Luddy emphasized their methodology of direct instruction (DI) Tuesday night and expressed the passion in their mission of teaching to master and creating connections for their students. When discussing what separates Thales from traditional models of schooling and how parents should see their children’s progress he stated, “You really don’t have to have any test scores or grades. If you can’t tell the difference than we’re…

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Thales Academy-Franklin Administrator Rachael Bradley to Speak on Direct Instruction with Parents Tuesday Night at Gate Community Church

Live from Nashville, Tennessee Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– Leahy was joined on the line by all-star panelist and Thales Academy administrator Rachel Bradley.

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