State and Legislative Updates from SEF’s Government Affairs Team
The weeks of 9/30 – 10/11
States, advocates, and researchers have been busy in the past couple of weeks pushing for and opposing private school voucher programs across the regions. Some highlights:
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Alabama published new proposed rules to administer its new school voucher program.
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A new analysis in Kentucky shows that public school teachers are paid less in states that have already implemented school voucher programs.
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Louisiana is set to spend nearly $1 million for a third-party provider to manage its new school voucher program.
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South Carolina’s governor asked the state Supreme Court to rehear arguments after the court found that the use of state funds for private schools is unconstitutional.
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Governors in Tennessee and Texas are doubling down on their push to expand or develop school vouchers in their respective states.
In related news, the National Education Policy Center and FutureEd have published new reports on school vouchers. Both publications highlight the fact that most school voucher programs have a negative impact on student achievement. But these reports also elevate the lack of universal accountability in many voucher programs such as no required background checks or certification requirements for teachers, and the absence of school accreditation standards. Without appropriate safeguards, voucher users can be put at unnecessary risk.
Also, check out a number of early learning and higher education advocacy and research reports on issues shaping our region. Those resources are listed below the state-by-state updates in this issue. Thank you for your dedication to equity for students of color and those from low-income families across the South. We hope those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton are safe and can recover quickly.
State Updates
Alabama
- Department of Revenue publishes proposed rules for CHOOSE Act – The Alabama Department of Revenue published its proposed administrative code for administering the state’s new school voucher program funds to parents and participating schools. (Alabama Political Reporter) Read More
- Legislators delay approval of State Department of Education contracts – A state legislative committee held back approval of a number of education-related state contracts on Thursday amid concerns that they were “sole source,” meaning the contract was not opened to public bidding but offered to a single company. (Alabama Reflector) Read More
Arkansas
- LEARNS Act positioned at core of central Arkansas Senate race – State Sen. Breanne Davis, a Russellville Republican seeking reelection to Senate District 25, was a lead sponsor of the LEARNS Act last year, and her Democratic opponent is using it against her. (Arkansas Advocate) Read More
Florida
- State sets new rules for judging pre-K performance – To better account for preschools’ performance, the Florida Department of Education has put forth new guidelines that include pre- and post-testing to determine how much growth children have made in early literacy and other academic gains while in pre-K. (Tampa Bay Times) Read More
- ‘The Limitation Effect’: NYU study examines effect of censorship in schools – Florida education policies targeting classroom discussion and materials related to sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and ethnic studies are being felt by educators and parents, a New York University study found. (Florida Phoenix) Read More
Kentucky
- Opinion: State can learn about the devastating impact of vouchers from Arizona, Florida – As parents from Florida and Arizona, we have seen firsthand the devastating impact of publicly funded school vouchers. We offer a gloomy cautionary tale to Kentuckians so that you can understand why passing Amendment 2 and allowing similar programs in Kentucky would be a terrible idea. (Courier Journal) Read more
- Debate continues over state’s ‘Amendment 2’ and school funding – People gathered in downtown Louisville to hear from panelists, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Louisville, about Amendment Two. The proposed state constitutional amendment will be on ballots in November, asking voters whether to allow the General Assembly to use public money to fund private schools. (WHAS 11 News) Read More
- Analysis: States with private school vouchers have lower teacher pay – An amendment on the ballot this November would allow politicians to divert public dollars to private schools. In states that have already enacted school vouchers, public school teachers are paid much less than in other states. (Kentucky Center for Economic Policy) Read More
- Parents could be liable for kids’ misuse of guns under Republican lawmaker’s plan – A Northern Kentucky Republican will file a bill in the 2025 legislative session to hold parents and guardians civilly accountable for gun violence or misuse carried out by minor children in their care. (Kentucky Lantern) Read More
Louisiana
- State officials to hire company to manage education savings accounts program – State education officials recently met to consider a revised one-year contract with a company that would manage the state’s education savings accounts program. (BR Proud) Read More
- State superintendent talks computer science standards, high-impact tutoring – At a recent state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Superintendent Advisory Council meeting, officials discussed new computer science standards, high-impact tutoring, and field test participation. (Center Square) Read More
Maryland
- Child-care facilities face budget constraints following state funding cuts – This year, the Maryland Child Care Credential Program that helps child-care professionals with training and provides them bonuses for improving their skills, is no longer in the state budget. The State Department of Education blames budget constraints for the program’s stoppage. (WMAR-2 News) Read More
Mississippi
- Child-care crisis is costing the state and moms – The lack of accessible child care in Mississippi is keeping 7% of the state’s labor force out of work and costing the state billions of dollars. If those 7% of people joined the labor force, it would add about $8 billion to Mississippi’s gross domestic product per year, according to a new report from the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance. (Mississippi Today) Read More
- Youth mental health task force makes recommendations, including workforce development and addressing cell phones in schools -The committee tasked with studying young people’s mental health proposed measures to shore up the state’s youth mental health workforce, enhance behavioral health training for school officials and school resource officers, and screen students statewide for mental health concerns. (Mississippi Today) Read More
- Report examines the state of special education in Mississippi – This report brought together families, advocates, lawyers and educators to provide an in-depth qualitative and quantitative assessment of the challenges and inequities in the special education system – and how these issues adversely affect the educational rights of children with disabilities across the state. (Southern Poverty Law Center) Read More
Missouri
- State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education hopeful child-care subsidy backlog will be cleared soon – The state agency is now publishing weekly data on its progress in addressing a backlog of payments to child-care providers. (KFVS News) Read More
North Carolina
- Democrats say ‘soul of public education’ is on the 2024 ballot. What are their plans? – Democrats running in Charlotte-area state legislative races say public education is among their key issues, and they want bigger raises and increased funding for public schools. (Charlotte Observer) Read More
- State superintendent plans more than $100 million request to lawmakers for Helene-affected schools – At a State Board of Education meeting, state Superintendent Catherine Truitt listed several items she plans to bring to state lawmakers to help schools in western North Carolina as communities there recover from the destruction of Hurricane Helene. (WRAL News) Read More
Oklahoma
- As policymakers focus on local school boards, state lawmakers discuss change in election dates – The deputy state director for the conservative political lobbying group Americans for Prosperity argued at a legislative hearing for the state to move local school board elections to align with the dates for federal and state elections. (The Oklahoman) Read More
- State higher education officials appeal to lawmakers to keep state colleges, universities competitive – Several presidents of state colleges and universities urged state lawmakers to adopt policies to make the state’s higher education institutions more competitive with those in other states. (Oklahoma Voice) Read More
- Report: State lawmakers have proposed the second-most censorship orders since 2021 – Oklahoma is among the top hotspots in the country when it comes to legislative attempts to censor certain discussions in academic settings, according to a new report. (High Plains Public Radio) Read More
South Carolina
- Gov. McMaster seeks rehearing on K-12 school vouchers as parents scramble to keep kids in schools – Gov. Henry McMaster has asked the state Supreme Court to rehear arguments on the state’s school voucher program in hopes justices will change their recent decision that the program is unconstitutional. Legislative leaders say that’s a waste of time. (South Carolina Daily Gazette) Read More
- Young learners in state’s majority-Black schools facing greater suspensions – Young learners attending predominantly Black schools in the Charleston County School District were far more likely to face suspension and expulsion than students in the district’s predominantly white pre-K and elementary schools, a new study shows. (Early Learning Nation) Read More
Tennessee
- Nashville Early Education Coalition to address child-care crisis – Twenty-nine leaders from the early childhood education sector, state and local governments, and business and philanthropic communities are uniting to form the Nashville Early Education Coalition to help alleviate Nashville’s child care crisis. (Nashville Scene) Read More
- Governor says state has money for both Hurricane Helene recovery, universal school vouchers – Gov. Bill Lee said Hurricane Helene’s massive destruction in northeast Tennessee, plus a growing backlog of public infrastructure needs statewide, won’t prevent his administration from pursuing a universal private school voucher program during his final two years in office.(Chalkbeat) Read More
Texas
- Texans deserve world-class public education, and teachers need competitive wages and compensation, statewide group says – As voters head to the polls in November and the state Legislature returns to Austin in January 2025, Raise Your Hand Texas is calling on lawmakers to prioritize and strengthen the state’s investment in its 5.5 million public school students and teachers. (Business Wire) Read More
- Abortion, private school vouchers and legislative control are the key issues in 2024 election – Democrats are hoping to flip enough GOP-controlled House seats this fall to regain the upper hand and once again deny Texas Gov. Greg Abbott the votes to provide taxpayer funds for private school tuition. (The Texas Tribune) Read More
- Opinion: Are vouchers too costly for the state? – If the one million students in private education across Texas received the $10,500 ESA voucher proposed last year, it would cost the state $10.5 billion in state tax revenue or $21 billion in the biennial (two-year) budget. That cost could come without a single child leaving a public school for private education, and it would bankrupt the state. (Reform Austin) Read More
- Over 120 state organizations urge lawmakers to take up child-care reform. What are their solutions? – The call for Texas child-care reform intensified after more than 120 organizations across the state released a statement urging lawmakers to address child-care shortages and related challenges in the state. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Read More
West Virginia
- Senate passes child-care tax credit bill, sends it to governor’s desk – The state Senate passed a bill 29-1 that will provide personal income tax credits for child care in the state, sending it to the governor’s desk. (WCHS) Read More
National/Federal Updates
Early Learning News/Resources
- Child Care Funding Cliff at One Year: Rising Prices, Shrinking Options, and Families Squeezed – This report looks at how five states are faring in light of the child-care stabilization cliff. As expected, child-care prices are rising, child-care supply is not growing, programs are shutting down, and many families are being impacted by the combination of not being able to find or afford child-care options. (The Century Foundation) Read More
- MomsRising’s Child Care Voter Guide & Action Toolkit – MomsRising has created a voter guide and action toolkit to educate and share information and resources for voters who care about child care to make sure they are registered, informed, and ready to lift a collective voice in support of child care at the polls this November (MomsRising) Read More
- These federal policies support Spanish-language child care – A quarter of the children in the U.S. are Hispanic according to the U.S. Census, yet 60% of Hispanic families live in child-care deserts, areas with an undersupply of child care. A new guide outlines the federal policies that contribute financing and training to providers of Spanish-language child care around the country. (The Hechinger Report) Read More
- Connection and Community: Elevating the Impact of Latina Early Educators – A critical component of meeting the early education needs of Latinx families are the educators who make up the early childhood education workforce. Latina early educators reflect the mosaic of diversity that Latinx communities bring to the United States and provide a wide array of life experiences, skills, and assets to the field of early childhood education. (National Women’s Law Center) Read More
K-12 News/Resources
- For some children, Hurricane Helene’s ruin ‘could take years to get over’ – School closures and traumatic experiences could affect children long after schools reopen. Experts worry that similar scenarios are happening with much more frequency because of climate change. (The New York Times) Read More
- Biden administration asks Supreme Court to spare huge E-rate funding source – The Biden administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a lower court decision and reinstate the funding mechanism for the Universal Service Fund, which distributes some $2 billion annually under the E-rate program for connecting schools and libraries to the internet. (Education Week) Read More
- Early returns: The first results from new wave of public funding for private schooling – This resource explores the contours of the new universal school choice landscape, their potential consequences for the delivery of elementary and secondary education, and the universal choice movement’s emerging impact on the nation’s commitment to educational equity. (Future Ed) Read More
- Bringing more accountability, access, and transparency to school voucher systems – This policy brief examines the research behind school vouchers and the current status of voucher legislation in several key states. (National Education Policy Center) Read More
- States Leading Recovery: Request for Applications – The States Leading Recovery grant program provides funding and strategic support to states seeking to advance students’ academic recovery by integrating high-impact tutoring in public schools in the 2025-26 school year. (Accelerate) Read More
Higher Education News/Resources
- Missed student loan payments will hurt your credit again. What to know: – President Biden’s yearlong effort to help federal student loan borrowers ease back into repayment ended on Sept. 30. (The New York Times) Read More
- A new state-by-state map shows Project 2025’s potential impact on student loans – Project 2025 calls for the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). This state-by-state map sheds light on the estimated financial toll of Project 2025’s proposal to eliminate PSLF and how it will saddle approximately 3.6 million public service workers with more than $250 billion in additional student loan debt. (Student Borrower Protection Program) Read More
- HBCUs have the best return on investment – Multiple studies indicate that HBCUs provide a comparatively high return on investment, according to measures of post-college employment, graduate school outcomes, and other metrics. (The Century Foundation) Read More
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