Hawaii Reporter: Hawaii Removes Obstacle to Charter Schools - As a charter school champion engaged in a difficult struggle, Hawaii’s chief executive has claimed a key victory for educational choice in her state. Gov. Linda Lingle (R) signed into law Act 115, which affords charter schools on the seven Hawaiian Islands more independence from the state bureaucracy than they have previously enjoyed.

KTVZ.com, OR: Oregon schools better in ‘No Child Left Behind’ - 74% (923 of 1236 Oregon schools) met AYP standards compared to 70% in 2005-06.

West Central Tribune, MN: More than one-third of Minnesota schools miss academic mark - Minnesota’s roster of underachieving schools bulged to 729 this year, a sizable increase over 2006 and another sign that schools are struggling to meet the rising demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

PRNewswire.com: Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton Applauds Work of PIRCS as a Tool to Improve Schools in the District of Columbia - Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, (D-DC) joined representatives from Parent Information Resource Centers - Prices — across the country Wednesday who came to Capitol Hill to share with the lawmakers the substantive work the PIRCS are doing to create partnerships with families and schools to help improve student achievement and strengthen schools across the country.

Worchester Telegram, MA: City schools ‘choice’ gets two students - School choice, the program that proponents said could pump up a slim school budget and opponents feared would cost residents school seats and money, has attracted only two students.

Glendale Star, AZ: Glendale Elem. seeks input from residents - When it comes to school choice, Glendale Elementary School District (GESD) officials are doing their homework. Board members want to know if specialty schools would draw some students attending schools elsewhere back to their local schools. Individual schools could focus on rigorous academics; environmental issues; math and science; foreign language; virtual or on-line learning; visual and performing arts; or an academy for extremely gifted students. Past surveys have indicated parents of extremely gifted students are seeking more services. Using on-line resources or the idea of hosting a school within another school means there could be many options.

Hudson Star-Observer, WI: Letter: Taxpayers not represented - Who is representing the average taxpayer? The taxpayer who may or may not have children in the schools, who may be on a fixed income or who might not be an employee of the district? Instead of holding the school district accountable, the School Board members are indistinguishable from the school district. They are one and the same.

New York Sun: Third City Charter School Moves Forward - If approved by the State University of New York, which is reviewing applications from many different groups now, the charter school will be a partnership with a Los Angeles-based charter school network, Green Dot.