~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Education Policy Center Newsletter From The Independence Institute June 30, 2011 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In this issue

-- Douglas County, Families Press Forward as Voucher Program Sued -- Podcasts Highlight Fight Against National Standards, New PACE Membership Director -- 2011: The Year of School Choice? -- Center Brings Context to Educator Effectiveness, K-12 Funding Debates -- Eddie Rounds Up Reform: Spotlighting Innovation, Curbing Union Perks Dear Friends, We hope you enjoy our latest update from the Education Policy Center. Thank you for your interest in our work! Pamela Benigno, Director Ben DeGrow, Policy Analyst Marya DeGrow, Research Associate Raaki Garcia-Ulam, School Choice Website Outreach Coordinator Douglas County, Families Press Forward as Voucher Program Sued On June 21 two separate lawsuits were filed in an effort to bring a halt to the groundbreaking Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program. Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno quickly responded in appearances on CBS 4 Denver and AM 850 KOA local news outlets. Meanwhile, the district has moved forward with its lottery and filled the last of the 500 voucher slots for the 2011-12 school year. Many families are preparing for their new schooling opportunities in the fall. As part of our ongoing effort to support the local school choice initiative and the families who benefit, the Education Policy Center has created a one-stop webpage with a plethora of links and resources dedicated to understanding the Choice Scholarship Program and related media coverage and legal disputes. Tell your friends, and keep checking back as we will incorporate video and other media to tell voucher family stories, along with other links as they become available. For more:

GoBash, Good to See Douglas County Leaders Stand Up Against Shameful AntiChoice Lawsuit Ed Is Watching, Legal Complaint against Dougco Vouchers Rooted in Irony, AntiCatholic Bigotry Ed Is Watching, Hooray! Institute for Justice Stands Up for Dougco Choice Scholarship Families Ed Is Watching, Michelle Rhee Hits a Denver Home Run While Her Critics Swing and Miss Again Podcasts Highlight Fight Against National Standards, New PACE Membership Director The Education Policy Center recorded two new podcasts in June. First, Hoover Institution research fellow and former Assistant Secretary of Education Bill Evers discussed a campaign he has helped to spearhead to stop a move toward nationalized curriculum and testing. Second, Colorados leading non-union teacher membership organizationthe Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE)has welcomed new membership director Tim Farmer, who explained what his organization has to offer. 2011: The Year of School Choice? The tremendous events taking place in Douglas County might be enough to convince us that 2011 is the Year of School Choice. Our little blogger Eddie touted new and expanded Wisconsin choice programs as proof that the title was well-deserved, garnering attention from EducationNews.org. But the idea for the Year of School Choice moniker is not our own. The American Federation for Children has documented school choice legislation in 42 states this year, resulting in at least a dozen bills thus far enacted to create, expand, and restore private school choice programs. Center Brings Context to Educator Effectiveness, K-12 Funding Debates In the past month or so the Education Policy Center has added to the discussion surrounding two ongoing education stories in Colorado. First is the implementation of educator effectiveness improvements built from last years highly-publicized Senate Bill 191. Our own Ben DeGrow wrote a School Reform News story analyzing the implementation of similar legislation in Tennessee, while little Eddie broke down a new report from the Center for Teaching Quality. We also have provided additional context to recent concerns about K-12 funding challenges. Relying on the great work of the Education Intelligence Agency, our blog pointed out that in recent years Colorados K-12 employee hiring has exceeded or kept pace with student enrollment. More from Ed Is Watching: Tennessee One to Watch as Colorado Moves Forward on Educator Effectiveness Look Closer at Census Spending Data, Big Picture: Colorados K-12 Sky Isnt Falling Eddie Rounds Up Reform: Spotlighting Innovation, Curbing Union Perks Other interesting stories have caught the eye of our young blogger Eddie in recent weeks, including opportunities to highlight key local education

innovations and at least one legislative success in curbing taxpayer-funded teachers union perks: Trimming Bureaucracy, Adding Military School?: Latest Falcon 49 Innovation Life Skills Center of Denver Continues to Fill Important Niche for At-Risk Students How Did I Miss Utahs Union Release Time Accountability Law (They Beat Colorado)? Spreading Carpe Diem-Like Learning Success Requires Colorado Policy Changes Education Sector Report Adds Valuable Perspective on Colorado Growth Model If you appreciate the work we do and are able to give, we wanted to let you know about the opportunity to go online and designate a contribution to the Education Policy Center. Simply go to http://education.i2i.org and click the Donate button in the upperright hand corner. Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: pam@i2i.org phone: 303-279-6536 web: http://www.education.i2i.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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