A reader in Arizona reports that a State Senate committee just passed legislation that would lift all limits on vouchers by 2020. Every Democrat and one Republican opposed the bill. Why destroy public education? Since when did radicalism get confused with “reform”? True reformers want to improve institutions, not blow them up. True conservatives conserve community institutions that serve our democracy. The promoters of this scheme are radicals, not conservatives.
This is unfiltered rightwing ideology. No high-performing nation in the world has replaced its public schools with school choice. No voucher program in this country has produced impressive results. Every little church in the state will open or expand its school and hire uncertified teachers. This is not progress. This is stupidity.
Our reader adds:
“It is likely to pass given the makeup of our legislature and its connections to ALEC. The only hope is that Governor Ducey will veto it. He is pro-privatization and under normal circumstances would likely sign the bill but his own proposed funding plan might be in jeopardy if he did so. That means that there’ a chance that he’ll veto it!”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We haven’t heard if the House has postponed the vote once again, but here’s a great cartoon from Tucson making fun of the voucher system in anticipation of this legislation:
http://tucson.com/news/opinion/fitz/daily-fitz-cartoon-vouchers/image_19b33a65-f70b-5c58-9183-3fddca99e59e.html#.Vs8Bs4mdeKE.facebook
It’s right on!
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Dr. Ravitch, I am so appalled that this is happening. I recently found out that my State Representative, Paul Boyer, is an employee of Great Hearts charter business. Emails I have sent him were always argued that charters were a good thing. Now I know why. It is time to vote these people out. I think he should not be allowed to vote for issues concerning public schools, since he is so pro-charter. I am so disappointed in our legislature.
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Dottie, help vote your Representative out of office
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While this piece of legislation will probably fail this year, due to Governor Ducey’s financial plan to “solve” education funding, it will be introduced again next year, as it is introduced every year. And next year there will be no road blocks. Governor Ducey and the Koch brothers have been very successful in derailing voter approved laws to maintain education funding, even after courts have ruled against the state government. Governor Ducey’s Prop. 123 does not begin to make up the money that was guaranteed by law to the public schools of Arizona. I would not be surprised if he strong-arms the legislature into approving vouchers during his term, as he has strong-armed them about many other things in the last year and a half.
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Karen, isn’t it amazing that President Obama considered Governor Ducey for the Supreme Court?
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Diane:
No!
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This makes absolutely no sense:
“Republican backers of the legislation said it expands school choice while keeping in place the current cap.
“It’s a huge step forward for school choice for our parents and students throughout this state,” said Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria. She noted that a cap of about 5,000 students remains in place and opponent’s concerns that it would hurt public schools was wrong because the voucher programs pay less that public schools receive in government funding.
“Not only are we advancing school choice so that children and parents can take whatever’s best for them, but we’re also saving taxpayer money,” Lesko said. “My vote is yes to school choice.”
This is the kind of nonsense reasoning they routinely get away with in ed reform circles.
Maybe we should hire some people in government who have a basic, 6th grade level of understanding on how public systems function. They could visit a school board meeting, perhaps. Take a field trip. Learn something.
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Camel’s nose under the tent
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I wonder if public schools could use market forces to stop the ed reform movement from deliberately destroying their schools. Public schools are still the largest buyer of products and services, and charters and private schools simply aren’t a big enough market to employ all the consultants and experts and various other ed reform people selling product.
Maybe they should stop buying from ed reformers. There’s no reason public schools should pay a contractor who aligns with efforts to destroy public schools. There are plenty of other contractors and experts and consultants to choose from.
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“This is not progress. This is stupidity.”
Yes, that’s pretty much the size of it. Thank you for saying so, Diane.
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Dr. Ravitch, I have never voted for him ever. I won’t vote for him the next time. But this state is blindly Republican. How do we get someone with better belief systems to run against these people? If I didn’t have so many health issues, I would consider doing it. The stress of all this certainly doesn’t help my health.
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“This is unfiltered rightwing ideology.”
NO! It’s unfettered rightwing idiology*.”
From an updated “Devil’s Dictionary” (with all apologies to Ambrose Bierce)
idiology (n.) a. Ideology based on error and falsehood. b. Ideology of idiots.
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