The Education Commission of the States posted a lineup of the partisan divide among the states. Republicans have a commanding lead over Democrats.
Of 50 states, 33 have Republican governors. Republicans control 66 partisan chambers, compared to 30 held by Democrats.
Republicans pick up three legislative chambers. The Kentucky House, Iowa Senate and Minnesota Senate switched from Democratic to Republican control. Republicans made history in Kentucky when they took 17 seats from the Democrats to gain control of the chamber for the first time since 1922, and only the third time in state history. Republicans now control all 30 legislative chambers in southern states.
Democrats pick up four legislative chambers. The New Mexico House, both Nevada Assembly and Senate and Washington Senate switched from Republican to Democratic control.
Tied chamber. Republicans also made gains in Connecticut, a reliably blue state, where the Senate is tied 18R-18D.
Three states with split/tied chambers. Colorado and Maine continue to have spit legislative chamber party control. This down from seven states pre-election (Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington). The Connecticut Senate is tied with 18 Republicans and 18 Democrats.
This means that a large number of states will look favorably on school choice, which Trump has described as his highest priority. Many states already have some form of voucher program; most–thanks to Race to the Top–permit charters. School choice–charters and vouchers–means less money for public schools. As public schools lose funding, class sizes will grow, programs will be cut, and alternatives will become more attractive.
If Betsy DeVos is confirmed as Secretary of Education, be prepared for an all-out federal assault on public schools. The same could be said of almost anyone Trump might select in her place (Falwell, Rhee, Moskowitz, etc.) The model is Race to the Top. The Department of Education might bundle $20 billion and dangle it before states as a competition, with eligibility dependent on laws permitting vouchers to religious schools and for-profit charters, even home schooling.
Friends and allies of public education, a cornerstone of our democracy for nearly 200 years, will have to organize and resist.
Join the Network for Public Education as we fight to defend public schools against privatization.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
LAWSUIT v. BEVIN ATTACHED:
http://www.whas11.com/news/local/teachers-group-sues-gov-bevin-stivers-and-stumbo/358313646
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/11/29/kentucky-leaders-sued-for-teachers-pension_ap.html
Randy Wieck
Louisville, KY
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Words like “reform” and “privatization” no longer convey the scope of what is going on here. We are looking at the corporate appropriation of essential democratic and social functions, from the power to tax to the control of science, scholarship, journalism, and education.
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“. . . to the control of science, scholarship, journalism, and education.”
Sounds rather Sovietesque to me.
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It is a totalitarian agenda.
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YEP!
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Yup.
The real issue here will be the states. If they are already red at the state legislature/governor level, they are gone. No fight to be had. Done.
If they are blue, a fight may be possible, but it very much depends on how much of the reformer stink the dems in the state legislatures and governors offices have on them. Here in NY, the stink is heavy on the dems. The fights, when and if they are going to happen, will be inside the states.
There is no longer a broad national fight against Ed reform, privatization, and the death of public education. We actually lost that a good while back, though the death will be called within the Trump admin.
We must focus on the states where there is a glimmer of a chance in fighting back and keeping public education a viable thing. Those states are blue, but there are no guarantees there.
Lets not lie to ourselves and think, even for a moment, that deep red states, under DeVos and a Trump administration, have even a slight hope of maintaining real and viable public education. They don’t. The best we can hope for is creating some islands of public education (still hobbled and crippled by corporations and reformish stink no doubt) that will serve to remind the country of what it looked like. Those islands will and can only be in the few remaining blue states.
A national strategy will be a waste of huge amounts of time, effort, and resources. Lets focus on those places where a fight may pay off.
A decade or more of sitting at the table, negotiating, and not facing the fact that Ed reform was and is an existential threat has led directly to this moment. This isn’t just about the Trump election. He and DeVos are just the last nail.
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Right, public education is only safe in the hands of Democrats. Like Rahm Emanuel, Cory Booker, Barack Obama. Fierce defenders of public education all.
(And it should go without saying, but since apparently it doesn’t around here, no, I’m not saying Republicans are good. I’m saying it’s not a partisan issue, it’s a corporatist/money issue.)
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Nowhere did I say things would be safe under dems. In fact I pointed out and have pointed out countless times, that dems are just as bad and worse on some levels than repubs.
However, if there are places that have any hope for a fight for saving public education, those places are blue states. That’s all.
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You might be surprised by how many red state denizens want to keep their public schools that are the hub of the community and can be enlisted in the fight for public education. Not all red state denizens are far right evangelicals and corporatists.
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Duane,
I have no doubt that there are many in red states that want to keep their public schools. No doubt!
I just don’t think that matters.
They are done.
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Don’t give up. If we can find 3 or 4 Republican senators who value their state’s public schools, we can block DeVos.
Those who say that there are no difference between Dems and Republicans, that Trump is equal to Hillary, have already thrown in the towel.
Do not accept defeatism. You have to fight for what you believe in.
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NYSTEACHER,
Disagree. The Dems are far better than the Republicans on education. No one was more outspoken in criticizing Arne, Obama, Rahm, Cuomo and Malloy than I. But I would vote for the Dems over Trump’s GOP every time. The Dems are aware that the NAACP passed a resolution against charter expansion. They are aware of the vote on Question 2 in MA.
There is a big difference. Not seeing it is a failure of critical thinking. Hillary pledged to prohibit for-profit schools from receiving federal funds. Trump will guarantee that for-profits proliferate. Do you not see the difference?
The Republicans want to privatize
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I live in north Florida in an area with lots of young military families that support public education. The only charters in the area are in special education. We have not been hit yet with privatization even though Governor Scott is a big supporter of “choice.” I guess a lot depends on how punitive the rules become in each state in this new era of privatization.
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Diane, it’s not that Democrats aren’t in general preferable; for all their many faults, they often are, despite their disgraceful alliance with so-called reformners.
The issue is the one referred to by Duane: we must, where possible, find common cause with people we might otherwise disagree with, in order to save public education. Only a coalition of strange bedfellows can do that.
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Corporations absolutely ❤ States’ Reichs because it’s a lot easier to buy governors and state legislatures off piecemeal and also to play States off against one another in a race to the bottom. Old union hands know this technique is called “whipsawing”.
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IMHO, it does not matter to be BLUE or RED. It all matters that workers are self-discipline, self-reliance, and conscientiousness
If workers ONLY survive by working for the RICH, then there is not much for workers to demand human rights.
In the old time, hunters, fishermen and farmers are independent and free from corporate’s control, whereas educators have been maltreated by government who is controlled by the RICH.
Yes, GREED is the BRUTAL downfall sooner or later (= communism or fascism) to the welfare and well-being to all people whether they are rich or poor, savage or civilized, intelligent or illiterate.
Smart people still die. Ignorant people (=slaves) always cling to materialistic desires longer than conscientious ones (sensible and humanitarian character).
Some learn fast. Some learn slowly, But, all will go through a variety of challenges in order to awaken their own purpose in life. And all will suffer with their own attachment of love, hatred, and jealousy regardless of being rich, famous and good looking.
in short, ONLY wise people, who are patient, understanding, and caring for the welfare of surrounding, will always live and die with contentment. Back2basic
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It’s time for some politically “disruptive innovation” on the part of teachers and supporters of public education.
There’s no working with these people, whether DFERs or Trumpsters, only bruising them, each and every time, so that they are forced to conduct a cost-benefit analysis about the utility of attacking us.
Given that, it’s crucial that the failed, collaborationist policies and leadership of the AFT/NEA be repudiated by teachers, and replaced with a leadership that truly sees the necessity of rank and file mobilization, understands that we’re not engaged in a partnership or debate, but in a combination bar fight/war of attrition.
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Michael,
Exactly. It is now the time for real, creative, disruptive action.
As you say, that first action must be a conscious, loud, and clear denunciation of the collaborationist policies of union leadership. That will require a removal of most current union leadership, as they are incapable of such a course shift .
Not super hopeful there, but the discussion seems to be shifting, which is good.
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Teachers need to mobilize for sure, but an even stronger, more effective resistance movement should be forged with parent and social justice groups. It is easy for authorities to single out an retaliate against teachers, but it is much more effective when there is a coalition of those that support strong public education.
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Ask not, what your homeland can do for you,
ask what you can do for your homeland.
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Yes, but unfortunately I’m hearing half of my “homeland” telling me to eat s%#* and die.
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Obama and the democrats have not been friends to public education. If we’re going to bash Trump and the republicans, lets at least be fair. Obama has been a disaster for public ed.
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Both NH and VT flipped to Republican governors… and both will have the opportunity to appoint State Board members and the chief school officers— both of whom are exceptionally talented and committed to public schools. The next six months will be telling, especially in NH where the next generation of Sununus has taken office in a State with Republican legislators… And Mr. Sununu, unlike Ms. Ayotte who lost the Senate race, was unequivocally for Trump…
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