Newswire: July 5, 2016 — Burdensome compliance requirements for Ohio charter schools — North Carolina expands opportunity — Massachusetts charter high schoolers college-bound

FREEDOM RINGS. Hoping your 4th was great, we continue to celebrate freedom this week, highlighting events and places where freedom and innovation are allowing for – or sadly prohibiting – greater opportunity for all. Join us in our fight to ensure all children have access to truly exceptional education opportunities, regardless of where they live.

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PIONEER STATE OPPORTUNITY. Parents of more than 32,000 children anxiously await November for a ballot question to lift the cap on charter schools in the Bay State. According to new data from six Boston charter high schools – which serve a student population that’s largely Black and Latino – 98 percent of graduates are accepted to college.

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IN OHIO. Charter schools in the Buckeye State have one month to document and provide evidence that they are complying with 319 state laws and rules. Among the hundreds outraged by the latest regulatory overreach by the State education department, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation representative Jennifer Robinson told Gongwer that charters are being held to completely different standards than traditional public schools. The focus should be on making sure schools are providing a quality education, “not whether they have a flag five feet in length,” Robinson said, referring to item number 209 on the compliance list. Next week CER Founder and CEO Jeanne Allen will bring the message of innovation and opportunity to the Ohio Council of Community Schools‘ (OCCS) gathering in Toleldo. OCCS is the strongest and most tenured authorizer in the Buckeye State. For more info call Lenny Shafer at (419) 720-5200.

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NC EXPANDS OPPORTUNITY. A budget awaiting Gov. Pat McCrory’s signature – and a bill to help turn around failing schools – is a boost for the Tarheel State and more quality seats for kids. The proposed budget boosts teacher pay, increases the amount for scholarship grants for children with disabilities (from $5.8 million to more than $10 million), and significantly expands the state’s three-year-old Opportunity Scholarship program (allowing nearly 36,000 students to receive a scholarship by 2027 compared to 3,600 today). More details here.

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CER – KEMP FORUM ON EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY. Join CER and the Jack Kemp Foundation for a special focus on opportunity with national, state and local leaders convened for the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council. We will be live streaming from Indianapolis July 27th – if you can’t join us that evening in person – with Senator Tim Scott, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Incoming ALEC Chair and Wisconsin State Senator Leah Vukmir and others looking at how we might expand opportunity across all levels. For more information please contact [email protected].

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