Julian Vasquez Heilig reported here that the California Charter School Association was using its muscle in the state legislature to weaken accountability, especially rules that govern conflicts of interest.
The good news: The bill has been killed.
JVH wrote:
The California Charter School Association has been carrying a bill – SB 806 (Glazer) – to loosen regulations on conflict of interest at charter schools. Pretty obscene in the midst of conflict of interest stories like this and this, two stories that came out since this bill was rejected by the Legislature last year.
The author is determined to stop charter schools from having to comply with Government Code 1090; This law protects the public and prevents conflicts of interest. SB 806 has a provision which stops authorizers like Los Angeles Unified or East Side from being able to require that new charter petitioners agree to comply with Government Code 1090; SB 806 says that only the limited conflict of interest provisions within the bill can be applied. The only changes in the bill that were made since last year are some minor new transparency for contracts between charter schools and CMOs. This is inadequate because CMOs manage charter schools and should comply with open meetings and public records laws, just like school districts that manage district schools.
The charters school lobbyists are sneaky because they are pushing this right after the holiday recess and the bill sprung onto the calendar not leaving much time for the public to speak out.
Here is a simple but important idea:
#KidsNotProfits
On January 9, the effort to weaken the conflict of interest Limits was killed by opponents of the charter industry.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I was busy screaming at the media in st. louis to find out whether the huge story regarding a revolving door of people appointed by Governor Greitens to get to five who would support his getting rid of the state superintendent, and replace her with the hotshot charter guy Kenneth Zeff was still part of his plans…….they get a pass this time…….the story of our navy seal governor taking a woman to his basement with her permission, and photographing her and blackmailing her with his photo, as he inspirationally worked things out with his wife was a bigger story for today. But the krap he on his agenda for public education, backed by dark money is a bigger story in the long run.
LikeLike
Joe,
I joined your club. Sensationalism and corruption seem to be coupled with Ameri-DUH.
And now Oprah is testing the waters re: running for potus. SAVE ME.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ameri-DUH. There it is. 🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
LikeLike
Charters should have to follow the same rules as public schools. If they use public funds, they should be accountable to the taxpayers. The fact that they eschew any form of regulation or accountability is a red flag. Too many charters are robbing the communities they serve. They are also guilty of nepotism, crooked real estate deals and fraud. Charters need more oversight, not less. Taxpayers should have the right to know that their tax dollars are being used for the intended purpose; anything less is irresponsible governance.
LikeLike
And … This why they love charter schools … NO accountability and a lot of personal Ka-Chinging.
Thanks Reagan, Clinton, both Bush’s, Obama. and now the worse, dump, for this horrid situation.
Anyone notice how the situation became worse with each potus? Holy cow. And most of them have also engaged in sexual misconduct, too. Double HOLY COW! That says a lot.
LikeLike
I read ed reformers a lot and it’s hard to find any proposals for improving or supporting any public school, anywhere, but they do lobby very hard for public schools to purchase more and more and more ed tech:
“In its First 100 Days, and since, CER has urged the Administration to boldly consider efforts to bolster the use of existing and expected federal funds to create the potential for expanded, personalized learning that employs 21st century technologies. We’ve recommended the use of new infrastructure dollars to support public-private partnerships that will drive the creation of new schools, connected by new roads and new digital pathways, that can encourage more education for learners at all levels. This would not only dramatically improve the quality of education in rural America, but increase options and opportunities for learning, which spurs the economic growth the president is hoping to achieve and entices people to stay, or move to these improved communities. We all know that great education is at the heart of vibrant communities. With an expanded focus on providing more and better learning opportunities for all students, an expanded economy will follow.”
What do the 90% of families in public school get out of ed reform, you ask?
More ed tech products of questionable value! More “online learning”! More slogans like “digital natives” and “21st century learning” that came directly out of ed tech company marketing departments!
So never let anyone tell you they don’t do anything for public schools, because they do.
They sell us stuff. Product. We’re big buyers. That’s our one and only value.
Please don’t buy what they’re selling. They don’t have any clue whether any of this stuff has any value at all to public school students. Please don’t pour public money into gimmicks and slogans and marketing. The ed tech salesforce will be down the road and you’ll be left with some very angry constituents who will wonder why you bought this sales pitch.
LikeLike
Ed reformers don’t require conflict of interest rules or ethical guidelines because they are inherently morally superior to public school advocates.
They’re in it “for the children” and everyone else is venal and self-interested, especially those icky labor union members.
Hey, if you were the Best and the Brightest you wouldn’t require regulation and guidelines either, but you’re not so you do.
LikeLike
What we know is that money corrupts. “Reform” with all the scandals, waste and fraud is not morally superior. Nobody should have access to public money without strings attached. I had a number of grants during my career, and these came from the state. I had to account for every single penny of the money, and I accepted these terms in order to get the grant. Anything less would be highly suspect.
LikeLike
When ed reformers first parachuted into Ohio the argument was they would get rid of those icky teachers union lobbyists and we would have a pure and high minded debate on educational options staffed (apparently) with unpaid and highly principled volunteers.
Then everyone realized they just flooded the statehouse with charter lobbyists, and cruel reality intervened.
I have yet to figure out how all the paid public school advocates can be such horrible self-interested people yet all the paid charter and voucher advocates are pure and unsullied.
If the (cynical) argument is everyone who works for pay in or around a public school is “self interested” doesn’t that have to apply to charters too? If not, why not?
Just inherently superior human beings? Hmmm. Doubtful!
LikeLike
I think the word, “CHARTER,” makes some people feel SPECIAL.
LikeLike