Published February 2nd, 2023
‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ introduced in North Carolina Senate
(The Center Square) – North Carolina Senate Republicans introduced a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” on Wednesday, legislation intended as protection for children and parents as…
Published January 23rd, 2023
North Carolina charter schools boast big gains since 2019
(The Center Square) – North Carolinians will host hundreds of events in the coming days for National School Choice Week, and they have a lot…
Published January 12th, 2023
Louisiana legislative task force conducts hearing on student behavior, mental health
(The Center Square) — Mental health experts on Wednesday provided numerous recommendations to a legislative task force focused on addressing Louisiana’s student behavior and mental…
Published December 28th, 2022
North Carolina professor files lawsuit after firing over CRT criticism
(The Center Square) – A teacher at the North Carolina Governor’s School recently filed a lawsuit against state officials who he claims fired him for…
Published December 22nd, 2022
North Carolina officials say lawmakers didn’t include mandated education funding
(The Center Square) – State officials believe about $677.8 million in court-ordered education spending was not included in recent state budgets, a calculation at the…
Published December 13th, 2022
North Carolina House committee releases report on state’s education system
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina House Select Committee on an Education System for North Carolina’s Future concluded its last meeting of 2022 by…
Published November 18th, 2022
North Carolina charter schools have increased enrollment by nearly 20% since 2019
(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s public charter schools continue to witness significant enrollment gains, jumping nearly 20% since 2019, while traditional public schools remain…
Published November 15th, 2022
North Carolina education board will consider new teacher pay and licensure plan
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina State Board of Education will consider a new plan to revamp teacher licensure and pay next month after…
Published November 8th, 2022
Democrat-majority North Carolina Supreme Court rules against lawmakers in school funding case
(The Center Square) — A North Carolina trial court will determine the exact amount of what’s expected to be hundreds of millions in education spending…
Published November 1st, 2022
Religious organizations join North Carolina charter school in appeal to U.S. Supreme Court
(The Center Square) – Several religious organizations are joining North Carolina’s John Locke Foundation to support a Brunswick County charter school’s appeal to the U.S.…
Published October 18th, 2022
Some question North Carolina’s plan to use $30M from Volkswagen settlement to buy electric school buses
(The Center Square) — Gov. Roy Cooper is touting $30 million to fund “clean” school bus replacements, including dozens of electric buses, though some question…
Published September 6th, 2022
Louisiana superintendent says Biden admin’s Title IX gender and orientation rules are currently ‘unenforceable’
(The Center Square) – Louisiana Superintendent Cade Brumley wants the state’s school leaders and athletic associations to know President Joe Biden’s proposed Title IX rules…
Published August 30th, 2022
North Carolina students leaving for private schools, homeschooling on the rise
(The Center Square) – Recent data from the state’s Division of Non-Public Education provides a snapshot of student enrollment in private and home schools, which…
Published August 25th, 2022
NC lawmakers want state Supreme Court to dismiss intervenors in education funding case
(The Center Square) – Republican lawmakers involved in the decades-long Leandro school funding lawsuit want the state Supreme Court to dismiss a group of “plaintiff-intervenors”…
Published August 16th, 2022
Final briefs filed as North Carolina Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in school funding case
(The Center Square) – Parties in North Carolina’s decades-long Leandro school funding lawsuit have filed final briefs in the case ahead of oral arguments at…
Published August 10th, 2022
Louisiana state education board working on changes to high school accountability ratings
(The Center Square) — The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will review a proposal later this month to change how high schools are…
Published August 9th, 2022
Seventeen Louisiana school districts showed no improvement or decline in academic performance
(The Center Square) – Student test scores recently released by the Louisiana Department of Education are revealing which districts and schools flourished in recent years…
Published August 5th, 2022
Brief: Court-ordered funding transfers in North Carolina school spending case are unconstitutional
(The Center Square) – The John Locke Foundation and North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law are urging the North Carolina Supreme Court to reject an…
Published July 29th, 2022
State Supreme Court will hear decades-long North Carolina education funding case on Aug. 31
(The Center Square) – Dozens of “recognized leaders in the North Carolina business community” are weighing in on the decades-long Leandro school funding saga ahead…
Published July 19th, 2022
Louisiana judge keeps injunction on state’s abortion trigger law in effect until Tuesday
(The Center Square) – A temporary restraining order blocking Louisiana’s abortion ban will remain in effect for at least another day, after the judge in…
Published July 18th, 2022
North Carolina treasurer appealing order requiring state health plan to cover sex change operations
(The Center Square) — North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell is appealing a recent federal court order requiring the state health plan to fund sex change…
Published July 14th, 2022
Education savings account bills dead as Louisiana lawmakers decide not to reconvene for veto session
(The Center Square) — Louisiana legislative leaders have officially called off a veto override session for 2022, leaving in place the governor’s rejection of proposals…
Published July 13th, 2022
$56 million allocated for a school choice program in North Carolina
(The Center Square) – Teachers and state employees will get bigger raises, while additional funding for school safety, state retirees, infrastructure and other priorities are also…
Published July 7th, 2022
What powers do lawmakers have, and how much do the courts have, in school funding? North Carolina to decide
(The Center Square) — North Carolina lawmakers have some questions for the state Supreme Court to ponder in the decades-long Leandro school funding lawsuit. In…
Published July 5th, 2022
Louisiana audit finds lack of oversight in state Department of Education that led to a $74k theft
(The Center Square) – A lack of oversight allowed a Louisiana Department of Education employee to swindle more than $74,000 from a federal grant program…
Published July 5th, 2022
North Carolina lawmakers avoided parents’ rights bill during short budget adjustment session, approve teacher pay and school safety
(The Center Square) – North Carolina lawmakers concluded a short budget adjustment session that boosted spending on teacher pay, school safety, infrastructure, and election integrity,…
Published June 29th, 2022
Louisiana Legislature unlikely to return for veto override session on school bills among others
(The Center Square) – The potential for a veto override session in July is unlikely and unnecessary, according to one Legislative leader, though others believe…
Published June 29th, 2022
Louisiana’s Edwards vetoes bill that would allow state board of education to approve charters
(The Center Square) – A veto of legislation to allow charter schools approved by the state board of education, rather than local school boards, was…
Published June 27th, 2022
Louisiana lawmakers have until July 16 to decide on veto override session which would include multiple school choice bills
(The Center Square) – The Louisiana Conservative Caucus is calling for a veto override session to “correct the governor’s unilateral actions.” The caucus, which represents…
Published June 24th, 2022
Louisiana’s Edwards signs bill to ban abortion if U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe decision
(The Center Square) – Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed legislation to ban abortion in Louisiana if federal precedent is overturned by the U.S. Supreme…
Published June 21st, 2022
Louisiana’s Edwards vetoes two education savings account bills
(The Center Square) – Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed 17 bills this week, including measures aimed at helping students with disabilities and those struggling to…
Published June 17th, 2022
Parents’ Bill of Rights could be sidelined in North Carolina General Assembly
(The Center Square) – A Parents’ Bill of Rights approved by the Senate earlier this month may not get a House vote before the end…
Published June 15th, 2022
North Carolina House passes bill to regulate virtual public and charter schools
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina House recently passed legislation to regulate virtual public and charter schools, though not without concerns from both sides…
Published June 6th, 2022
North Carolina Senate approves parental rights in education bill on party-line vote
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina Senate approved legislation to codify parents’ rights in education and stipulate age appropriateness for curriculum on gender identity…
Published June 6th, 2022
Louisiana Senate Finance Committee kills two education savings account bills, advances another
(The Center Square) – Two bills to create Education Savings Accounts for certain students were held for study by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday,…
Published May 31st, 2022
Louisiana Senate Education Committee approves two education savings account bills
(The Center Square) – Two bills to create Education Savings Accounts students can use for educational expenses outside the public school system cleared the Louisiana…
Published May 27th, 2022
North Carolina Senate committee approves parental rights in education bill
(The Center Square) – A bill to codify parents’ rights in education and stipulate age appropriateness for curriculum on gender identity and sexual orientation cleared…
Published May 18th, 2022
Louisiana Supreme Court dismisses criminal charges against pastor for defying COVID-19 restrictions
(The Center Square) — The Louisiana Supreme Court has dismissed criminal charges against a pastor who defied Gov. John Bel Edwards’ coronavirus restrictions in 2020.…
Published May 11th, 2022
Louisiana Senate passes Reading Education Savings Account program bill
(The Center Square) – A bill to create a Reading Education Savings Account Program for struggling students cleared the Louisiana Senate. Lawmakers approved Senate Bill…
Published May 9th, 2022
Louisiana House passes bill to require schools to inform parents about immunization exemptions
(The Center Square) – A bill to require Louisiana schools to inform students and parents about exemptions from school immunizations cleared the House this week.…
Published May 6th, 2022
Louisiana House passes education savings account bill for disabled students
(The Center Square) – Legislation to create Education Savings Accounts for students with exceptionalities passed the Louisiana House. Lawmakers voted 91-1 to approve House Bill 194,…
Published May 2nd, 2022
Louisiana House committee approves school finance transparency bill
(The Center Square) — The Louisiana House Education Committee approved legislation this week to increase transparency of school finances by requiring school districts to post…
Published April 28th, 2022
Louisiana House committee approves two school choice-related bills
(The Center Square) — Bills to give parents of certain students more educational options gained approval from the House Committee on Appropriations, while another broader…
Published April 27th, 2022
Bipartisan panel says changes need to be made to North Carolina’s education system
(The Center Square) — The Hunt-Lee commission — a bipartisan panel of lawmakers, business, philanthropic and education leaders — have released a report outlining needed…
Published April 26th, 2022
Louisiana Senate committee clears bill that could end income reporting for merit-based scholarship
(The Center Square) — A bill to eliminate reporting of family income for Louisiana’s merit-based scholarship program has cleared the Senate Committee on Education. Committee…
Published April 21st, 2022
Parents’ Bill of Rights proposed by North Carolina policy group
(The Center Square) – A North Carolina think tank is proposing a Parents’ Bill of Rights to give parents more authority in their children’s education.…
Published April 21st, 2022
Louisiana bill requiring athletes to compete according to biological sex passes Senate
(The Center Square) — Legislation to require transgender student athletes to compete on teams that correspond to their biological gender gained approval by the Senate…
Published April 6th, 2022
Law that allows North Carolina towns to create charter schools in the clear after court decision
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a state law that allows towns in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School…
Published March 21st, 2022
GOP leaders look to squash union’s ‘burdensome’ ways in North Carolina school-choice case
(The Center Square) – Republicans in the General Assembly want the North Carolina Court of Appeals to halt proceedings in a lower court challenge to…
Published March 11th, 2022
Failed veto override means North Carolina school mask decisions remain with districts
(The Center Square) – An attempt by North Carolina Senate Republicans to override a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper to make masks optional in schools…
Published March 9th, 2022
Louisiana higher ed officials explain why they want more state money
(The Center Square) — Louisiana higher education officials testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, fielding questions on requested increases in student aid, a…
Published March 8th, 2022
Education spending, literacy among topics covered in Louisiana budget meeting
(The Center Square) – Officials with the Louisiana Department of Education testified Monday on the governor’s proposed budget in the House Committee on Appropriations, where…
Published March 1st, 2022
Head Start teachers in 3 states suing over Biden administration’s COVID vaccination mandate
(The Center Square) — Head Start teachers in Louisiana, Ohio and Virginia are suing the Biden administration over a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the…
Published February 22nd, 2022
Pennsylvania Republicans demand 2021 student test results
(The Center Square) – Republicans in the General Assembly are demanding the Pennsylvania Department of Education release student test results from 2021 to incorporate the…
Published February 18th, 2022
Louisiana lawmaker wants to require schools to post class materials online
(The Center Square) – At least one Louisiana lawmaker wants to give parents a better understanding of what their children are learning in school. State…
Published February 16th, 2022
Report: School-choice demand shows why Pennsylvania lawmakers should expand programs
(The Center Square) — A new report is highlighting the record-high demand for Pennsylvania’s school-choice programs as evidence lawmakers in Harrisburg should consider better ways…
