In other words, the proposal that represents a small, positive step for parental empowerment stepped out from beneath the groundhog’s shadow. And not a moment too soon, for such a commonsense piece of legislation.

Yes, it’s sad to see only Republican representatives showing a modest support for the education consumer. Is it just Colorado where Democrats seem so universally wed to protecting K-12 institutions of power (the Colorado Association of School Boards and Colorado Education Association both testified against HB 1149) at the expense of a little extra parent voice in the school turnaround process?

Interestingly, California Democrat Gloria Romero today expounded on her support of a more comprehensive parent trigger bill coming out Florida:

This is not a Democratic or a Republican fight. It’s a fight for parents, by parents. This is also a civil rights issue that is personal to me. My mother had a sixth grade education; I have a Ph.D. I know what education means for ending poverty, and I know how hard we are making it for millions of children to get the quality education they need and deserve.

If you are poor, African-American, Latino or a member of any other underserved constituency, too often your success in school is tied to your zip code and to government officials who make life-altering decisions for you. Those with financial means move to a different school, but those who stay need a way to make the schools work for their children.

Or as Colorado’s Rep. Beezley was quoted in the Ed News story:

Help me offer a little bit of hope … to parents with children in some of our lowest performing schools…

The far-from-conservative Metro Organizations for People came out in support of HB 1149, noting that the existing five-year turnaround process is “far too long.” If they were in California or Florida, they may have found support from the Democratic caucus so far. There’s still time for the Colorado legislature to debate and vote on this bill in a bipartisan (or better yet, nonpartisan) fashion. I hold out hope that it can be the case.

One of the first important items to pop up is next Monday’s scheduled committee hearing for House Bill 1149, aka Parent Trigger II. This lighter version of last year’s Parent Trigger bill by Rep. Don Beezley looks like it at least will have a chance to go further than the House Education Committee, unlike last year’s proposal.

In a nutshell, HB 1149 gives parents of students in low-performing schools greater voice to speed up the process of closing, turning around or converting the school. Currently, the State Board has to intervene in struggling schools designated “priority improvement” or “turnaround” after five years. The new proposal would empower parents during the third year of the process. If 50 percent of them sign a petition, the State Board would only be obligated to give them a hearing before taking one of three options:

1. Do nothing (i.e., continue the existing improvement plan);
2. Wait and schedule a reevaluation of the school’s plan for the following (fourth) year; or
3. Direct the Commissioner of Education to convene a review panel to make recommendations.

Okay, so it’s hardly a huge, radical change, and not nearly as strong as the original version. But it does give parents in low-performing schools a little more power and potentially a lot more voice.

According to the Colorado Department of Education’s School Performance Framework, 221 of the state’s 1,806 schools and alternative education centers are operating under a priority improvement or turnaround plan. Of that number, 105 (representing a variety of schools from Denver and Pueblo, as well as rural and suburban areas) will be going into the third year and should be immediately affected by the legislation.

While Colorado’s HB 1149 doesn’t appear to be as potent as the “parent trigger” proposals coming forward this year in places like Arizona, Florida, Indiana and Louisiana, it is a small step in the right direction.

In the meantime, inquiring minds want to know whether anyone will see little Eddie’s shadow peeking around the State Capitol in the coming days. Wait and see, there should be enough time. Fourteen more weeks of legislative session, you say? As tempting as it sounds, guess I can’t roll over and go back to sleep yet….

• Yesterday, Colorado’s U.S. Congressman Jared Polis put his name to some Ed News Colorado commentary celebrating School Choice Week, aptly concluding “Empowering all families with school choice should be honored every week in word and deed, not just this week”
• Daily Caller columnist Caroline May reports on the legendary and beloved comedian Bill Cosby’s passionate pleas for more school choice and great classroom teachers, as well as his clear statement to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan that more K-12 system funding is not the answer to our nation’s education shortcomings
• Last but not least, my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow helped to celebrate School Choice Week with a couple radio show appearances, including a discussion of choice and reform with the Mike Rosen Show’s large audience and a Northern Colorado conversation on the Amy Oliver Show

Time to run, but what else can I say? SWISH!!!… Nothing but net!

• The Alliance for School Choice has released the latest version of the School Choice Yearbook… The big news? More than 210,000 students nationwide are enrolled in publicly-funded private educational choice programs, a 25 percent increase in just four years!
• Remember Education Savings Accounts, the cutting-edge school choice program with a superior design? Well, today a Maricopa County judge ruled that Arizona’s first-of-its-kind ESA program for special needs student was constitutional!
• Finally, speaking of special needs students, the Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio is about to launch its fourth voucher program, the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship!

Good news on all three fronts. Before my hyperactivity takes over and my short attention span fades away, here’s one last call to invite you to this evening’s Kids Aren’t Cars movie night at the Independence Institute in Denver. Hope to see you there!

At the other end of the poverty – and fund-raising – spectrum is Johnson Elementary in southwest Denver, which reported fewer than $3,000 in private gifts in 2010-11.

If a donation of five or six figures came through the door of the school, where 96 percent of students are low-income, said Principal Robert Beam, “You’d be writing a story about a principal who is dancing in the streets all day long.”

The timing of the story is remarkable. Why? Yesterday substantial checks went out to 14 metro area public schools and 2 public charter management organizations (CMOs) serving high-poverty student populations, with awards totaling $500,000. And they didn’t just go out to schools based on need, but to schools with a proven record of serving their students well:

Award winners were selected based on a variety of factors, including academic performance and growth, percentage of students qualifying for the Federal free and reduced lunch benefit, school culture, leadership, and instructional effectiveness.

So states the media release from the benefactor Foundation For Great Schools, a coalition of five private Colorado foundations, including the Daniels Fund (which also helps support my Education Policy Center friends). When they cite “academic performance and growth,” they aren’t kidding. All 16 recipients earn an A or B from the new Colorado School Grades site:

• Montview Math and Science Elementary (Aurora)
• Tollgate Elementary (Aurora)
• South Elementary (Brighton)
• Ricardo Flores Magon Academy (Charter School Institute – Westminster)
• Community Leadership Academy middle school (Charter School Institute – Commerce City)
• Beach Court Elementary (Denver)
• Bryant Webster Dual Language K-8 middle school (Denver)
• Denver School of Science and Technology CMO (Denver)
• Girls Athletic Leadership School (Denver)
• Greenwood ECE-8 middle school (Denver)
• KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy (Denver)
• West Denver Prep CMO (Denver)
• Deane Elementary (Jeffco)
• Stein Elementary (Jeffco)
• East Elementary (Littleton)
• Valley View K-8 elementary school (Mapleton)

I haven’t seen any reports indicating increased street-dancing activity taking place near any of the above schools. Yet while various kinds of celebrations may take place at each of those centers of learning, I will study up on the definition of this great word philanthropy. Remember: You can find more information on Colorado schools and the open enrollment process at the fantastic, parent-friendly School Choice for Kids website.

Here in Colorado the legislature kicks off School Choice Week with the introduction of House Bill 1149, a lighter version of last year’s Parent Trigger bill by Rep. Don Beezley. This latest version allows parents from schools that have spent two consecutive years under one of the state’s two lowest accountability ratings (aka “priority improvement” or “turnaround”) to petition to change the school’s management structure and/or convert it to a charter.

Because Parent Trigger II offers a slower process than in last year’s proposed legislation, it may win over more support. In the meantime, while I let the special School Choice Week moment sink in, here are some other related happenings and odds & ends that may interest you:

• A couple of stalwart California education reformers, Larry Sand and Alan Bonsteel, explain in the Los Angeles Daily News why school choice is more important now than ever
• Writing for the Fordham Institute’s new “Choice Words” blog, Adam Emerson is trying to get readers to graduate to a new conversation about parental choice, and wants your (and my) thoughtful participation
• It’s not brand new, but I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the week than to point your attention to a great video by the Foundation for Excellence in Education about the not-so-supermarket that offers a narrow selection of milk like some states offer a narrow selection of educational options

You know what, on second thought, I’ve thought of a better way. You can watch the 1-minute video right here, right now:

Have I got your school choice juices flowing yet? Yes, it’s Monday, but it’s no excuse not to wake up and get informed….

The Innosight Institute’s Michael Horn lays out the question of how to get from the national group Digital Learning Now!’s reform roadmap to a well-tailored solution in a given state, in this brand-new Education Next article:

With the road map in place, one might assume that moving into the future will be a straightforward exercise: the pieces are all there and model legislation is forthcoming, so state policymakers just have to enact the 10 Elements.

Of course, things are never so simple, and many questions remain.

Some questions reflect legitimate disagreement over Digital Learning Now!’s recommendations, even among those who agree with its broad vision….

The devil indeed is in the details. But it’s just that sort of reality that keeps my Education Policy Center friends busy working hard… or so they say. Maybe they just keep busy to stay out of trouble. Because, after all, the idle brain is the devil’s playground. Sorry, all this talk of the devil is creeping me out — almost as much as talking about the bogeyman or Congress seriously considering the SOPA / PIPA bills (not sopapillas!).

Anyway, speaking of details, you can get some more insight into Michael Horn’s thinking on the need to make significant policy changes by listening to one of our iVoices podcasts we recorded with him a few months ago. Arm yourselves with knowledge as you support the good cause of parental choice and educational excellence through digital learning in Colorado!

A Marion County judge ruled Friday that Indiana’s school voucher program is constitutional. However, those who oppose the program say they’ll appeal his decision.

The vouchers, approved by General Assembly last spring, redirect money from public schools to help offset private-school tuition for students in low- and middle-income families.

Of course, the union and other anti-choice groups will appeal. That’s just the way it’s done. But it’s a big win for the good guys, coming five months after the same judge blocked an initial request to put the program on the same sort of injunction as the one holding back Douglas County families.

A quick victory lap then, first with a response from Indiana’s own Dr. Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice:

This is a huge victory and it means that the nearly 4,000 low-and-middle-income children in Indiana who are participating in the program can continue to attend a high quality, non-public school using public funds.

As you may recall, early reports show Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program growing at a record pace. Families there are hungry for more educational options, too. Not surprisingly, the American Federation for Children is also very pleased with the judge’s latest ruling:

“This ruling is a victory for children and families not just in Indiana, but all across America,” said Betsy DeVos, chairman of the American Federation for Children. “It sends a message to special interests everywhere that they cannot stand in the way of giving disadvantaged children the educational opportunities they deserve.”

Indeed. And the timing couldn’t be better. I’m not talking about the fact the ruling came down on Friday the 13th — which debunks all the horrible superstition, unless perhaps you’re a union leader or ACLU attorney. The ruling in favor of Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program gives us in Colorado that much more to celebrate at one of the National School Choice Week events near you.

Perhaps I’ll see you there.

The second annual National School Choice Week is coming up soon. It’s almost time to stop gearing up and to start getting into action. For most of my fellow Coloradans, there aren’t any good excuses to not be able to attend even of the numerous events going on during the week of January 22-28:

• On Thursday evening, January 26, you can watch the movie Kids Aren’t Cars at the Independence Institute’s new Freedom Embassy, with a brief talk afterwards by my Education Policy Center friends
• On Tuesday evening, January 24, you can attend the Restoring American Exceptionalism Denver Townhall with guest speakers Hugh Hewitt and Dick Morris at the Douglas County Events Center
• Or the night before — Monday, January 23 — you can check in at the Colorado Springs edition of the Restoring American Exceptionalism townhall with featured speaker Michelle Malkin
• Want to celebrate School Choice Week with an educational experience where you never have to leave the comforts of your own home? Online education parents, school leaders and supporters can sign up for a January 25 Advocacy Academy Webinar through the Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families
• On January 28, teachers can “enjoy a Saturday morning breakfast and spend some time finding ideas and projects at the Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT),” compliments of the Professional Association of Colorado Educators
• On Friday afternoon, January 27, big people can find the School Choice Happy Hour in Denver
• What better time than School Choice Week to visit a school that is doing something different? You can arrange a visit to the TR Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge, a Fort Collins charter school, on either Tuesday or Wednesday

There may be more National School Choice Week events coming up in Colorado, but these are the ones I’m aware of. Show your support by showing up to one or more of these great events! And don’t forget to tell a friend….

This made for useful sound bites, but was always problematic because the definition of classroom spending was amorphous. Principals and curriculum specialists weren’t classroom spending, but teachers’ dental benefits were. There was bound to be a lot of cheating to reach the magic number. Unions hated it. And even though unions hated it, I didn’t like it either. In 2006, I wrote that I remained “doubtful that meeting such a threshold has any effect on the quality of instruction or on student performance.”

Very similar points were made by my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow when Colorado’s Amendment 39 and Referendum J were on the ballot in 2006 — before my time. He noted that unions and established interest groups were on the right side of the issue, if largely for the wrong reasons. While the proposals crashed and burned here in Colorado, apparently a few other states like Georgia latched on.

The “65% Solution” still had enough mojo to emerge as part of a Florida ballot initiative package in 2008. In one of my first-ever postings here, I speculated about the danger of mixing good & bad policy for short-term political benefit. Since then, though, the report from Georgia is the first I’ve heard on the issue.

Another lesson? Not all reform fads are good. The so-called 65% Solution neglected the root of a systemic problem in K-12 education. Reshuffling dollars spent with new bureaucratic titles or accounting categories sells the problem short. Let the money follow the student based on need and parental choice, and we won’t need to worry about changing state law or the constitution to require certain shares of K-12 dollars fall into a certain category.

That would be change we could all rally behind. No dustbins needed.