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School vouchers are a source of debate between public and private schools nationwide, but nowhere is the debate more acutely felt than in Indiana. Indiana is home to one of the largest voucher programs in the country, and many are waiting to see whether this program delivers on all of its promises. Vouchers are also a major point of contention in places like Wisconsin and Louisiana, where schools are fighting for students and parents are waiting to see if the benefits of school choice will come to fruition. Do vouchers improve the quality of education for all students? With inconclusive test results, the jury appears to still be out. However, that doesn’t change the intensity with which both sides fight for the type of education system they believe is best.

Competition Heats Up in Indiana

Indiana’s school voucher program continues to expand, intensifying competition between public and private schools. The state’s , first approved by the Indiana legislature in 2011, has grown into one of the largest voucher initiatives in the country. According to the Indiana Department of Education’s overview of the program, tens of thousands of students now use vouchers to attend participating private schools, and participation has increased steadily as eligibility rules have expanded. As the program grows, many public school districts have worked to retain students by promoting their academic programs, extracurricular opportunities, and community connections, while also adapting to the financial impact that occurs when enrollment shifts

Although New York City recently issued guidelines for sex education in all of its high schools, the rest of the state does not appear to be faring as well. A recent report by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) suggests that sex ed in New York schools is inconsistent at best, as well as incomplete and inaccurate in a number of schools across the state. In a state that has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country, public schools need to produce a well-rounded, comprehensive curriculum without bias or stereotypes, the report recommends.

About the NYCLU’s Report

In creating the report, titled, “Birds, Bees and Bias: How Absent Sex Ed Standards Fail New York’s Students,” the looked at 82 public school districts across the state. The organization originally asked 108 districts for information about their sex education programs, but 26 that responded were excluded from the study due to insufficient information. The study also did not include schools in New York City, since the city took measures to standardize and update the sex education programs last year. The 82 districts included in the study encompasses just over 540,000 students, which is more than half of all the students in the state, with the exception of students within New York City.

The report found that although New York’s Department of Health published guidelines in 2005 regarding sex education in schools, those guidelines are not requirements for schools to follow. The guidelines

Charter schools have been touted as one of the solutions to a failing school system, but not everyone believes charter schools are the best way to reform public schools. Test scores offer little assistance in this area since numbers can often be manipulated to support either side of the aisle. As these alternatives to traditional public schools celebrate their 20-year anniversary, can we know definitively if they are making the grade? It may depend on who you talk to and which school you are talking about.

The Growth of Charter Schools

No matter what educators, parents, and lawmakers might think of charter schools, one thing remains crystal clear: the number of charter schools nationwide has been slowly and steadily growing over the past 20 years. The reports that there are now around 5,600 charter schools around the country, attended by more than two million students. In states like Michigan, caps have been removed, allowing for the exponential growth of charter schools in that state as a multitude of charter operators have moved in to take advantage of more liberal charter authorization laws.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan began the new school year with 31 new charter schools and a 32^nd in the works. Eighteen of those schools are in the Detroit area. Those numbers represent the largest charter school growth in a single year since 1990. Currently, the state has 277 charter schools operating, with three-fourths operated by for-profit

After a seven-day strike temporarily shut down , students eventually returned to classrooms and teachers resumed instruction. While the immediate disruption ended quickly, the strike became one of the most influential education labor disputes of the past decade. In the years since, the issues highlighted during the Chicago teachers' strike have continued to shape national debates about teacher contracts, evaluation systems, and education reform.

In the months leading up to the strike, negotiations between the , district administrators, and city leadership grew increasingly tense. City officials proposed reforms that included longer instructional days, expanded hiring authority for principals, and new teacher evaluation policies. Union leaders argued that reforms should also address teacher salaries, job security, classroom size, and additional services for students in under-resourced communities. As negotiations continued throughout the summer, some observers hoped a compromise would be reached, while others believed a strike was becoming increasingly likely. This video from the Chicago Teachers Union discusses what was learned from the teachers' strike.

Video discussions and interviews from the Chicago Teachers Union following the strike highlighted how educators viewed the negotiations and the broader issues affecting Chicago Public Schools.

Two Points of Contention

When union delegates ultimately voted to strike shortly after the school year began, two key issues remained unresolved. One involved hiring autonomy for principals. City leadership argued that principals should have the flexibility to