Julian Vasquez Heilig notes that the electorate this year will be more diverse than ever.

Supporters of charter schools claim that Donald Trump’s selection of Mike Pence as his running mate will help him with black and Hispanic voters, because (they think) minorities love charters, like Trump.

But Heilig writes that Pence has a terrible record on education as governor of Indiana.

Heilig was one of the expert consultants for the state-by-state report on public education.

He writes:

As a member of the governing board of the Network for Public Education, a group that works to preserve and improve public schools across the nation, I personally had the opportunity to review Indiana’s education policies and data under Pence’s leadership. The results were not positive.

We examined stability in the teaching force, the use of high-stakes testing, class sizes, school integration, recognition of poverty, as well as the state’s use of charters, vouchers and other forms of privatization. On our Network for Public Education State Report Card, we gave Indiana an F for support of public education.

Pence has done virtually nothing on education to reverse course since receiving our failing grade. Thus, the idea that Pence will empower Trump to attract African American and Latino voters seems quite farfetched.

Pence has been a strong and consistent supporter of privatization in Indiana.