Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton has been one of the most outspoken critics of Governor Rick Snyder’s Education Achievement Authority.

The EAA was created to gather up the low-performing schools in the state and put them under a single leader, in this case, the Broad “trained” superintendent John Covington.

There have been numerous accounts by students and teachers of mistreatment and abuse, poor teaching, inoperable technology, etc.

Governor Snyder asked the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to pass HB 4369 to expand the EAA.

Before the bill passed, Representative Lipton gave the following speech. The bill now goes to the State Senate, where passage seems likely.

 

Representative Lipton said:

 

Microsoft Word – Ellen’s EAA Floor Speech.docx

I rise before you today with profound disappointment and regret, as this is a floor speech that I wished never to have to make.

But here we are, and I can’t help but ask myself ‐ how did we get here? So a little bit of history is in order.

I’d like to take you back to the fall of 2012 ‐ November 2012 to be exact ‐ when a bill was introduced to codify an idea borne of the ideological agenda often referred to as corporate education reform, but in reality de‐form.

And the idea which is being replicated in states all across this country generally goes something like this:

  •   declare public schools a failure ‐ usually urban schools in extremely impoverished neighborhoods
  •   legislate a mechanism under which these schools come under some sort of state executive control
  •   and now with democratically‐elected school boards out of the way, sell said takeover district a bunch of educational elixirs peddled by a band of “edu‐ preneurs” who promise the moon and the stars and everything in between but deliver nothing
  •   and then declare victory, pocket their spoils, and then move on. But they did not expect what happened next in Michigan.

People all across this state said Whoa! Stop the train! Not so fast. And the bill didn’t pass and there was a collective sigh of relief.

But the corporate reformers are persistent ‐ I’ll give them that ‐ and the same old idea was tweaked and turned and re‐introduced and passed from this chamber in record time.

The process to create in statute a state takeover district has not been a smooth one, however, thanks to many Freedom of Information Act Requests, brave teachers and students who have come forward to tell their stories despite being silenced, persistent journalists and bloggers who continued to ask difficult questions to uncover the inconvenient truths, and all those in this chamber and out who bravely continue to speak truth to power. I thank all of you.

I thank the teacher who shared this story:

 
 
 
 
 

“The way that they’re treating the students is terrifying,” they said. “We’ve had multiple fights where no security has actually shown up. They’re not suspending students so I’ve been hit by a kid before and nothing has happened. Another teacher has been hit numerous times and nothing has happened to the child who did the hitting even though he was very clearly identified. He is still at school today.

“I’ve never felt this worried about going to school,” they continued. “I’m well aware that most of my kids would protect me and they have before, but they shouldn’t have to. That’s the role of discipline. But, at the same time, I afraid to report a kid because I’ve seen disciplinary officers hit them and I’ve reported it and nothing has happened from the state.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

“I’m at my end where I can’t be part of this organization that is abusing children both educationally and physically.”

 
 
 
 
 

And another who shared this one:

 
 
 
 
 

“I’ve written the state about our highly illegal practices with special education students. I’ve seen exactly four IEPs this year.” And of course there were more than four students with special needs. The teacher explains, “I have at least 20% per class. And I have no paraprofessionals except for one hour a day. It’s horrendous. I have no idea how to modify my teaching plan if I haven’t seen their IEPs. For example, I might need to read the test to them or modify things for math only. I have no idea without seeing the IEP. So, of course these kids are doing poorly because I’m not able to modify my teaching in the way that their IEP specifies.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

“Worse yet, if I don’t do it and they fail, they have to pass the kid because their teaching plan wasn’t modified as it should have been. But, I didn’t know! So, kids are being passed on.”

You know, it’s often been said that a society will be measured by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens

And so, I’d like to thank the many children who have shared their stories with me, stories that are etched in my memory and seared in my heart.

The little boy who told me that he misses seeing books in his schools

The little girl with a hearing impairment who was told to try to learn by reading the teacher’s lips when she had always received a audio amplifying headset

The little boy with cerebral palsy whose IEP was never followed and was told not to finish out the school year because he was going to flunk anyway.

And finally the little girl who told me “I may be poor, but I’m not stupid”

The promise I make to all of you who have joined this fight is that we will not back down. We will not be silenced. We will bear witness.

Because we have no other choice. And because the stakes are far too high.

This is what John Dewey meant when he wrote “What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all of the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.”