Bill Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy calls on parents to mobilize against the politically charter operators:
Lesson learned: Parents parked PARCC and when they learn about the failed charter school experiment they will can charters
Regardless of the merits/lack of merits of PARCC, public school parents sent the message to state officials that PARCC was not good public policy. Hence, PARCC was kicked out of Ohio.
That testing debacle was too controversial for most lobbyists to touch; but parents took it on.
Public school personnel and advocates must inform their respective communities about the horrific failure of the charter school experiment; the one that rips one billion dollars annually from school districts. When parents become informed they will send the message to state officials to can charters.
It is apparent that the for-profit charter lobby is operating the charter train. House leadership derailed HB 2, as amended by the Senate, until September. It may never be put back on track.
It should be noted that according to a July 1 Columbus Dispatch article, ECOT founder William Lager gave $400,000 in direct campaign contributions in the last election cycle. “That does not include any money that he may have given to non-profit political organizations set up by House and Senate leaders.”
William Phillis
Ohio E & A
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Finally, the correct question is posed: Who is going to ‘derail’ the charter school train and how will it be ‘derailed’? This is no short term struggle and will take years to win, just as it will take years to undo the harm that Arne Duncan has rathed on public school education.
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For a long time, I have wondered the same thing. As a sojourner in an Ohio suburb, my conclusion has long been, charters (for-profit and not) will probably only be threatened when they clearly and blatantly threaten the well-being of suburban school districts. The suburban PTA mom is a force of nature but only for her own community. Yes, charters, and the overall school deform movement, are hurting our suburban districts now but it is not obvious enough to the casual observer.
The successful effort to “park” PARCC (and Smarter Balanced) reinforced this belief of mine. My school district had several public informational meetings on Common Core and “the tests” and the moms there were worried and furious, a bad combination for the school officials who were trying to mollify them. I’ll add that my school administrators do not like either Common Core or the tests but feel they must comply. They are also betting that the same privilege that keeps our district in the top on all sorts of ratings will also enable us to stay on the top even in the face of CC and the tests.
But do these moms who are so against PARCC care the least bit about other school districts? No, not in the least. The nicest explanation I can come up with is that they are very, very unsophisticated when it comes to politics and do not understand the larger context. My least nice explanation, well, it is very mean. They are all too happy that there are districts “below” ours because that makes it easier for us to stay on top.
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Ohio is indeed in desperate need of charter school legislation, but why limit the fight to just the for-profits. Non-profit charter schools funnel public money into unaccountable private hands and resist attempts for transparency. The rallying cries of charter school backers for greater accountability of public schools and teachers is pure hypocrisy, IMO.
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And–in New York & at least one other state (Texas-?), cancelled Pear$on contracts might just be the beginning of the end for the “always lEarning” monopoly. &, again, who started that? Parents. (Those mad soccer moms!) Keep it going in every village, town, suburb, city & state. Parents, slay the Pear$on dragon, once & for all!
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“Who will kill the for profit charters?” Some of the selective charters may survive, particularly those with deep pocketed supporters. I believe all the waste and fraud in so many charters will turn taxpayers against them. Voters, once they have access to the facts, will have a hard time supporting the lack of transparency and accountability of charters, especially when the middle class feels the impact of increased taxes. Charters really are not a cost savings since they are inefficient. They merely shift money from the bottom and send it to the top. For the districts that have been transformed into a large charter district, it may take acts of civil disobedience or persistent politicking to get the attention of the governors in order to turn the tide. Governors should have to ask the people to vote on the future of a district rather than acting like a dictator and just taking it over. To me the more important question is “Will public education survive the aggressive assaults from government and corporations?”
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I hope this analysis is correct, but charter schools give many people what they think they want. Their kids do not have to go to school with “those kids.” Here in San Diego county we have what amount to religious charter schools. Charter schools have turned out to be private schools paid for by the public that facilitate segregation and class-ism. Where testing is obviously odious many people who think they are just being good parents want publicly funded exclusive schools for their children.
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