Tag: school choice

students classroom (no masks) kids teacher Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Competition and the Purpose of Educational Choice

April 2, 2025 Andrew Cline

On Thursday, decades’ worth of aged, decrepit talking points died in the New Hampshire House. Opponents of parental choice in education say the purpose of creating such choice is to “defund,” “privatize,” or “destroy” public schools. Public money should stay entirely in public schools, they say. This year, House Education Policy and Administration Chairman Glenn … Read more

So, Kids, What Did We Learn From Last Week’s House Session (3/27/25)?

April 1, 2025 Judy Aron

We learned that we had the rest of all the House bills to complete before the end of day deadline- around 45 bills. Thursday’s session began with 202 Republicans and 165 Democrats in the House and the votes pretty much followed that pattern. Thursday’s docket included some pretty contentious bills, and the Democrat crying baby … Read more

Education Options Expo in Weare March 24!

March 14, 2025 Jody Underwood

EdOpt’s first school choice expo of 2025 will take place in Weare on March 24. Explore all your education options, including private schools, micro schools, charter schools, learning centers, home education groups, and more! Whether you’re a family wanting to meet a varied set of education providers, a provider who wants a table, or a state rep or … Read more

Resolve the NH Education Crisis

February 12, 2025 Doris Hohensee

Many people are giving up on public schools. Districts demand more and more money; student proficiency keeps dropping; and federal mandates keep stacking up, distracting students away from academics and towards social-emotional learning, behavior modification, and other federal agendas. Rather than fix the public schools, some prefer universal Education Freedom Accounts, really vouchers, without any … Read more

Here We Go Again

February 1, 2025February 1, 2025 Doris Hohensee

Parents recently testified to the legislature that public schools are not “safe” or “suitable” for their children. That’s because the state has bribed public schools, using taxpayer dollars, to implement every education fad from restorative justice, which results in widespread discipline and bullying problems, to social emotional learning, which replaces academic instruction with behavior modification. … Read more

Online Learning May Help the US Close Education Gap

Much Ado About EFAs and School Choice

January 18, 2025January 17, 2025 Ann Marie Banfield

Yesterday, there was a hearing in Concord to expand the EFA (School Choice) program. The EFA program allows families to use state tax money, and take that to an alternative school if needed. It opens up options for families who want an alternative education for their children. Here is a link to the proposed legislation. … Read more

State-funded “School Choice”: A Power Grab

December 15, 2024 Doris Hohensee

Some members of the legislature believe that public schools are no longer “fixable.” They want universal state-funded spending accounts to allow all students, rich or poor, to escape public schools. They call it “school choice,” but it’s really an insidious transfer of power to the state. Yes, public schools are a uniform mess, but the … Read more

Satanic Statues, School Choice, and Holiday Greetings

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024 Manch Talk

This week on Manch Talk, we cover several topics, from satanic statutes at the State House to school choice and the City of Manchester’s billion-dollar proposal for a new school (no thanks!). We delve into the controversy of American holiday greetings and salutations and rip off a few Band-Aids!

EdOpt Expos were a success!

September 6, 2024 Jody Underwood

Education Options held our first two EdOpt Expos at the Richards Free Library in Newport in August. While there are many things for us to learn, we’re off to a good start. The best part was that all the attendees could point to something that they learned there. I know I was part of a … Read more

The New England Take: School Choice and EFAs in New Hampshire …

May 31, 2024 Op-Ed

Executive Director Kate Baker Demers, New Hampshire Children’s Scholarship Fund, dives into the highly successful Education Freedom Account program, how they have the data to back what they do, and how only politics drive the crazy claims by Democrats.

The New England Take: School Choice Goes Beyond New Hampshire but How Does It Compare?

May 17, 2024 Op-Ed

Ben DeGrow, Senior Policy Director for Education Choice at ExcelinEd, swats down complaints from Democrats running for Governor in New Hampshire regarding education choice and how other states compare to our EFA program.

$Sheep math bad math Photo by Michal Matlon on Unsplash$

The Public School Double Standard (Part 2)

March 6, 2024 Ian Underwood

Years ago, I wrote about how traditional public schools are to be judged by their ideals and intentions — their best possible outcomes — rather than by their actual performance; while the alternatives (e.g., charter schools, private schools, Extended Learning Opportunities, the Children’s Scholarship Fund, Learn Everywhere, and now EFAs and even home education) are … Read more

HB1002 Is Dead (For Now) – HB1610 (Requiring State Assessments for Homeschoolers) Is At Deaths Door

March 6, 2024 Steve MacDonald

We have two bits of excellent news for Granite Staters fighting the good fight – two bills you’ve all been battling have either died in committee or crawled out on their last legs, most certainly to die unless someone screws something up – always an option this session.

WARNING: State Take Over of Private, Religious and Home-Schools if HB1610 Becomes Law!

February 23, 2024February 22, 2024 Ann Marie Banfield

IMPORTANT: OPPOSE HB1610: This bill requires all students to participate in standardized statewide assessments.

So Kids, What Did We Learn From This Week’s House Session (2/8/24)?

February 9, 2024 Judy Aron

We learned that State Representative Matthew (Matt) Coker (R-Meredith) officially switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. The Republican Caucus welcomed him warmly and looks forward to working with him to serve his constituents with integrity and conviction.

School Choice: Florida Leads the Way

December 14, 2023 Ian Underwood

I just read (in Reason) that about half of Florida students are participating in some kind of school choice program. So I thought: Wow, things must be looking up in Florida, right? Academic achievement must be soaring because of all that freebie market competition.

Teacher’s Union President Blames Public Schools …

September 10, 2023 Steve MacDonald

This is my first dance with the current Chicago Teacher’s Union president. Stacy Davis Gates sent her son to a private Catholic School. When challenged on that choice, she blamed the lack of school choice, which is racist. School choice is racist, not the lack of it.

“Gold Standard” Study Shows Charter Schools Outperform Public Schools

August 23, 2023August 21, 2023 Rob Roper

Ten years ago, I took part in a series of debates on school choice opposite Paul Cillo of the Public Assets Institute and Bill Mathis of the National Education Policy Center and the Vermont State Board of Education. I was for school choice; they were opposed.

A Conversation I Think That The Education Establishment Will Abhor

July 16, 2023July 16, 2023 Skip

Most folks know what the NHSBA stands for – The NH School Board Association. Frankly, it is the epitome of the Education Establishment. They know best. They will do what they want, and while they’d like “involved parents,” They don’t brook too much dissent.

Studen laptop online learning Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

Free NH Charter School Provides Customized Education with Complete Flexibility

July 7, 2023 Op-Ed

Have you ever thought about educating at home, but didn’t know how to start? Did you know there is a free online charter school for New Hampshire residents in grades K-12 and beyond?