The Indiana State Teachers Association reports on a bill to privatize more public schools in Indianapolis. Privatization is not new. It is the theme song of the Obama administration in collaboration with libertarian think tanks and far-right governors.
What is new here is that the legislature is passing this plan with no evidence that it will benefit children or improve education. No, wait, there IS. Evidence. The evidence shows that all such turnovers have failed. This is faith-based policy.
The House Education Committee passed HB 1321 (Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis) 9-4 along party lines.
The bill gives the IPS School Board power to enter into contracts with “special management teams” (i.e. outside vendors) to create “innovation schools,” formerly called under the bill “portfolio schools.” These terms are simply euphemisms for takeover schools.
HB 1321 is being pushed and supported by the IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferebee and IPS school board, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, Stand for Children, and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.
It is being promoted as an opportunity for collaboration between the school board and charter schools in exchange for “flexibility” with IPS schools earning a grade of D or F. However, the chief bit of flexibility the bill focuses in on is the elimination of teacher rights and input. The superintendent talked about best practices and teacher buy-in, yet his bill models neither.
The main talking points against this bill are:
The IPS School Board was elected and the IPS Superintendent was hired to operate the schools in their school district—not pay middlemen to do their work.
The performance record of these outside private companies taking over schools in this state has been a failure—all 5 schools that have been taken over (now in their 3rd year of operation) remain “F” schools (4 in IPS, 1 in Gary). Taxpayers have paid millions of dollars so far to these companies with no discernible return.
Blaming teachers and their unions is a cop-out and indefensible: in 2011, the General Assembly narrowed bargaining and discussion topics and timelines and created new teacher evaluation and due process laws heavily favoring school employers. It is clear that the intent is to make these teachers “at will” employees.
HB 1321 is an insult to teachers working in some of the most challenging schools in the state and “giving away” students and teachers in these schools is shameful.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Blaming teachers and their unions is a cop-out and indefensible: in 2011, the General Assembly narrowed bargaining and discussion topics and timelines and created new teacher evaluation and due process laws heavily favoring school employers. It is clear that the intent is to make these teachers “at will” employees.”
That’s really the take-away for me. Indiana has done more to gut workers rights since 2006 than any other state. If a race to the bottom state like Indiana is still too union-heavy for ed reformers, the fact is they’re not about “improving education” but are instead about ending any remaining worker protections.
Which is not really all that surprising, looking at their donor list.
Mitch Daniels was the leader in attacking public employees in the midwest, and all the rest of the governors followed (Walker, Snyder, Kasich). It’s a playbook, it’s about privatization, and it isn’t just public schools. They are privatizing everything that isn’t nailed down.
at the Fordham Institute just yesterday they had an article on charter schools and one man commented from GEO in Indianapolis so I went in and posted an article that describes the Gravy Train of Charters….. (it was an article from Forbes); also there is a lot right now on the FLORIDA charter scam (go to the Badass Teachers web listing and look to see what T. Byars is posting) … would anyone have time to go to
Fordham Institute and add something????? They have become a nemesis for me in Massachusetts because they send out news headlines from Education Next (Fordham/Gates) and they say things like “teachers are pricey” on UPI headlines and they say “principal pension payoff” to get an alliterative headline and I am sick of it.
When the Trayvon Martin verdict came in they took the opportunity to bash Randi W. and at the Boston Marathon they did a “bomb” think that was terrible; I call it yellow journalism. Jack Hassard at the “Art of Teaching ” has also put a few posts on Education Next …. thanks for everything you do — Diane and the readers of this blog.
this is my post on the Fordham Institute website after Mr. Kevin Teasley posted his comments on the GEO charters in Indianopolis.
Kevin: I think you are being generous in ascribing “best of intentions” to this group. This is not our father’s Fordham. Fordham University always a had a good reputation and I knew of it for 30 or more years that way. This group is NOT that same institution we grew up knowing about. There are intentions not on the surface and they have a many headed hydra type organization — see the affiliate at Education Next and then look all over the place and you will see the thumb in the pot of soup everywhere you go. The citizens and taxpayers have become wise to Pearson ; they will soon be seeing what Fordham I (not Fordham U) is up to.
Pretty soon any person with a lick of sense will choose another profession. How sad
Also, I would question that they want “at will employees”.
“Employee” is a designation, a legal term of art, that (still) includes some bare-bones worker protections.
Ed reformers in Ohio tried to pass a law authorizing STEM charters that would not even have “employees” but would instead have created an independent contractor tier of teachers. The provision failed, but it passed the lower chamber in Ohio. Independent contractors have no rights at all, but it’s a hugely favorable designation for the EMO’s that run the charters in this state.
Race the bottom means just what is says. When they win on one, they keep going.
Chiara: If you look at Fordham Institute you will see they have a whole staff dedicated to charters in OHIO and they are “voucher only” in their response and they say they are helping the children who are in poverty as a civil rights momentum which I believe is an exaggeration if not a lie.
Once we reach “full reform” and each child has a 5,129 dollar voucher to purchase education on the free market- with their working class and middle class parents expected to contribute their “fair share”, because the vouchers don’t come close to covering the cost – once we reach that goal and publicly-run schools are gone, it will be great to be a politician.
All they do is issue payments.
Hey, they gave you the voucher for your backpack! What more do you want?
Is it any wonder politicians in both Parties love this plan? They can “improve public education” by simply issuing checks to private parties. No dealing with parents, or teachers, or larger questions or income inequality or the community role of public schools or those olde-timey pesky labor unions and their “demands”. Show up for a photo op at the latest miracle charter during the campaign and you’re golden. “Public” education solved and off your desk.
My question becomes, why do I need the elected middleman? They’re not even doing a good job negotiating the contracts! People in Ohio are getting robbed on charters. They’re lousy even at that small “government” role.
In case anyone missed it, HB1320 apparently passed. (It’s hard to tell from this brief whether it was voted on by the legislature or passed committee only.)
Link here:
http://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1320/2014
I have a friend who works with Catholic schools, in Ohio. He states to me “they are dying” because of vouchers. Catholic schools can’t get money from poor parents for technology, classroom items, etc. The Catholic schools that have vouchers are upping their tuition for those who can afford it, and those families are leaving Catholic schools by the boatload.
“Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard”
And why wouldn’t he push it? Ed reform is the best deal ever for politicians. They relinquish their public schools to private companies, and abandon all responsibility or accountability for them.
Running schools is hard. Is there any more difficult task a mayor has? Why not just outsource the whole job? He’ll be long gone by the time the results of this experiment are in.
Jean Haverhill
February 1, 2014 at 10:36 am
I was reading a piece about Chris Christie visiting a NJ urban district where he announced the private food service company that provides lunch for the children had “agreed” to provide supper for the children. This means Chris Christie is compassionate, despite what you may have, um, HEARD.
I’m thinking “why is he there at all? I believe this is a contractual matter between those children and their food service provider.” 🙂
The second graders probably could have got a better deal, because they wouldn’t have to reward Christie’s giant pack of corrupt cronies.
Wow, all of the edushysters must be licking their chops. Cronies will get rich, teachers and other workers will barely make any money before they burn-out, and the community will get ripped-off. Yes, this will improve education in Indianapolis!! wonderful plan!!
“Our employees 20 years from now are early childhood students today,” said Barry DuVal, president and chief executive of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
“As a business community, we are viewing this as an economic competitiveness issue because the workforce pipeline has to be prepared and it has to be prepared from an early stage,” he said.
How incredibly inspiring for the youngsters.
Have you noticed that ed reformers never talk about how businesses could train their own employees? Some of them even do it! My middle son works for a Honda supplier and they train their employees rather than whining about how they aren’t “career ready” out of high school. That’s called an “investment” but it cuts into executive bonuses, which may be why it has fallen out of favor.
You know who else used to do this? Labor unions! They practically invented it. True fact. They had something called “apprenticeships” where people learned a skilled trade from other people who knew how to do it. The apprentices got paid while they were doing it, and they didn’t have to borrow 100k in student loans. It was a “pipeline” that didn’t involve a taxpayer subsidy.
Reblogged this on Saint Simon Common Core Information and commented:
Very important read about public schools in Indiana.
It is more than embarrassing. I LIVE and taught in Indiana. Even with the mess that Tony Bennett left they continue to push for his agenda. Beyond belief.
I only wish I knew HOW to fight against it effectively. Blogs here are preaching to the choir. Dr. Ravitch is doing yeoman’s duty and in some places it seems to be effective but in Indiana?
Don’t confuse me with the facts, I have already made up my mind: the mantra for our politicians. Best government money can buy.
Gordon,
Yes, Indiana will change. Parents are getting the picture and will drive out the profiteers from their schools.
Dr. Ravitch: I saw you at Notre Dame about 2 years ago. I saw from your agenda that you’ll be in Indiana again soon. We need you now as much as ever!
Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis), the author of this bill, is a florist. You know what they say about 10 pounds of fertilizer in a 5 pound bag…
Haven’t heard that saying, please fill me in but not up with fertilizer.
I think that comment came from the 70’s comedy M*A*S*H* where one guy was describing how much somebody was more than full of it.
I’m sick of these little tin-horn dictators using teachers as their playthings. Behning and former supe Bennett were birds of a feather.
Thanks for the info. I think I’ve probably seen all the M*A*S*H* episodes, loved em even with the change of characters, but I don’t remember that one. I’ll see if I can find it. Sounds like something Potter might have said to Charles.
One of the few times that a tv spinoff of a movie actually worked.
I did find this:
It’s not far off, well maybe it is, from Shepard’s “We are your base now”
Reblogged this on Middletown Voice and commented:
Thanks again for standing in support of teachers in Indiana.
All I can say is buckle up Indianapolis! Ferebee is the worst kind of deformer. We were smart enough to run him and his cronies off from his old district. Keep a close eye on him and start doing some digging on him!