Tom Torlakson, the outgoing state superintendent of public instruction in California, has created a task force to review the charter school laws in the state.
California has more charter schools than any other state. The California Charter School Association is the richest, most powerful lobby in the state and has been able to stymie any overhaul of the law. The CCSA has staunchly opposed any revision of the law that might require accountability or transparency from charter schools and that would, for example, bar conflicts of interest or for-profit charters.
Governor Jerry Brown, who has been a progressive leader on so many major issues, has been a faithful defender of charter schools, vetoing any legislative efforts to update the law.
But, it now appears that the new governor will be Gavin Newsom, and he has no debts to the CCSSA, which directed millions of dollars to Antonio Villairaigosa in the primaries, who ran a distant third.
Given the reshuffling at the top, it is time to fix the conditions that allow frauds and scandals to go undetected in the charter sector.
Responsible members of the charter industry should work diligently to remove the fraudsters and grifters from their sector, as should everyone.
Charters should not have the ability to appeal from the district board to the county board to the state board, where they are certain to win approval, no matter how ill-qualified their staff.
At present, given the lack of any accountability for the expenditure of public money by charters, the state has experienced many scandals. To learn more about the woeful state of California’s charter industry, read Carol Burris’s carefully researched “Charters and Consequences.”
The Torlakson commission has the chance to get the law right, which would benefit both public schools and charter schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Break it down and you may notice that Torlakson’s “Action Team” appears biased towards charters. For example, of 11 members, 3 represent charter chains, 1 is a former Broad fellow, and 1 is an LA-based organization that supports charter expansion. In addition, the press release notes: “The Education Commission of the States will provide research relating to best and promising practices on charter schools throughout the nation.” Check out the “partners” of the Education Commission of the States. Among the top four are Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Walton Family Foundation, with many of the other partners connected to charter growth. As a member of Oakland’s Educators for Democratic Schools, I remain skeptical.
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You describe the EIC. Diane identified them years ago, and warned of what you are facing now.
The EDUCATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. owns the media… all of it! The news media will not tell you of the enormous coordinated assault on the 15,880 SEPARATE SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN 52 STATES.https://greatschoolwars.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/eic-oct_11.pdf
If you read here, you know about how The Waltons have long coveted control of Little Rock’s public schools. Local citizens resisted, but David doesn’t usually defeat Goliath. For example, as the Arkansas Times reported earlier this year, the Legislature passed a law Legislation “requiring Arkansas school districts to turn over buildings constructed with local property taxes to be turned over to any charter school that wants them, no matter how unproven the charter operator, no matter how damaging the charter might be to existing — and successful — true public schools.”https://dianeravitch.net/2018/08/14/the-walton-funded-hijacking-of-the-little-rock-school-district/
But Jan, I was there when the ploy in the plot to end Public schools, began… the PLOY is simple… remove the teacher ( get rid of their ‘clearance” — end their professional reputation and kick them out.
If the union protects teachers, then civil rights prevail.
The law is in their hands..we trust them to negotiate for OUR RIGHTS.
IN THIS NATION the utter lack of accountability is demonstrated in the utter contempt for US– for teachers, by the 1/10th of 1% who run the show, and own the 3 branches of government, which will include the courts if Kavanaugh gets in. Citizen United gave the them the power of $$$!
Here is Montana’s LAWLESS ATTACK ON A TEACHER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIF2kVwW1r0&sns=em
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Torlakson was the one that appealed the Vergara verdict and won protecting teachers’ due process rights in California
http://aft1481.org/2014/08/state-superintendent-seeks-to-appeal-vergara-verdict/
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Torlackson has been a friend of public education, but the way this new commission being stacked ten to one against public schools is rotten. It doesn’t add up.
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Sorry I misspelled your name, Mr. Torlakson.
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Deck stacked. “Casino mentality” has swept this nation.
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I’ve read the responses of teachers working now, in states across the nation. I write about how they led you all to this moment. Here is my series at Oped news: https://www.opednews.com/Series/15-880-Districts-in-50-Sta-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-140921-34.html?f=15-880-Districts-in-50-Sta-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-140921-34.html
So, when I read now what is ongoing on the ‘stage’ in each state, I am not the least bit surprised. The benefits and salary my union, the UFT managed to get for NYC teachers, aside, any teacher with more that a few years under the belt was/is in great danger of being kicked out minus benefits… not to mention career. Tenure is over in America, and experience not valued in this profession, unlike in any other difficult discipline.
So, let me nail the problem you teachers face, and it is simple: there is a total “Lack of ANY Accountability for what is happening to teachers for more than 2 decades.
I discovered that without The UNION AT MY SIDE I was chopped liver; I was robbed… of my civil rights and a great deal of income, because no principal, or district administrator was ACCOUNTABLE! Moreover, I was a celebrated teacher and they were able to attack me with impunity!
As many of you know by now, I discovered how unaccountable were those who ran the NYC public schools, in the nineties, as there was not a shred of accountability–something that was once provided by the UFT– for the most egregious acts.
I wrote this soon after my ‘retirement: http://www.perdaily.com/2011/01/lausd-et-al-a-national-scandal-of-enormous-proportions-by-susan-lee-schwartz-part-1.html
STEP ONE in the ploy to end public schools, is to empty the schools of the real professionals who know WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE (WLLL). They would never use the Gates crap.
We ‘trust’ the justice system to support our civil rights and protect us.
We trust the unions, who promise to uphold the contract.
I have my contract’s book next to this computer. I trusted the union to do more than negotiate my salary and benefits.
I trusted them because they would be the ones to NEGOTIATE my rights, not merely my salary and benefits.
Step 2—in the ploy to end the public schools ( after tens of thousands of veteran teachers are sent packing) — CUT THE FUNDING to hire teachers in order to have smaller class size…which works. Thus, step 2 DEFUNDED the STATES, so that they cut funds to the cities — and thus, the first civil servants to be deemed EXPENDABLE were the teachers.
We who lived here mid-century –and for decade — were on the road to income equality with a sound education… flawed and not perfect… but working in a big 20th century city. Public Schools educated me, and everyone (including Bernie Sanders, who sat next to me in Social Studies, in a Brooklyn HS)
The CIVIL RIGHTS OF TEACHERS DISAPPEARED so that the schools could be emptied of tenured (i.e experienced, dedicated, professional teacher-practitioners who would never use the Gates Curriculum Crap. I had to go, as I was undeniably competent as the NY State Educator of Excellence, for my original curriculum and my successful teaching.
http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html
This, even as the media applauded the removal of those “lazy, old EXPENSIVE, ‘bad’ teachers”)
NYC chancellor, Joel Klein…was unaccountable to the people of the city, as Donald Trump is unaccountable to the nation, even as they both sowed chaos.
“Nothing Matters.”(Rachel Maddow, CNBC on Aug 16)
If you teach today, and are looking at your union, you must grasp this — The NYC UFT was the most powerful ‘teacher’ union in the nation, and in fact, Randi Weingarten was the president who’ ‘rescued’ me — into retirement — when’ they’ finally came after me so egregiously and lawlessly, that even she could not turn away.
She is well aware of the lack of accountability for the grievous behavior of principals, ignored and thus allowed by Ivan Tiger, — the Manhattan UFT chief honcho in the nineties. My lawsuit made that clear! BUT my attorney cost me $25,000 dollars for what the school and district union rep could have accomplished when I filed all the grievances!
Two must watch video in this comment about my experience with the NYC union that let THIS happen. This the Grassroots movie, made years ago… and since then, ‘Eva’ got to “share” space in NYC public schools– you know, that have been deemed ‘failing!
To punctuate my comment here about the NEED FOR TOUGH, TRUSTWORTHY unions, this second video (I post it often) is from a Montana teacher; it was MADE A DECADE AGO , and it DEFINES THE LAWLESSNESS that comes when THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIF2kVwW1r0&sns=em
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No teachers. No parents. Many misguided policy wonks and charter partisans.
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Susan Bonilla, however, is historically pro-union, and there’s CTA’s Terri Jackson who will stand up for public schools.
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The one thing this task force won’t do is to say “keep the status quo.” California’s charter sector is a mess of waste, fraud, and abuse and even the charters know it.
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Torlakson’s “action team” is a joke just like him. The fact that he has no teachers, district administrators, or county administrators that represent DEMOCRATICALLY governed public schools, speaks volumes to how seriously he takes this. He has pretended to be a friend of public education but take a look at who has funded his campaigns in the past. Learn4Life has contributed heavily to his campaigns.
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Instead of pointing out Torlakson’s alleged flaws, focus on 2018 election. I also remind you that it was Torlakson who appealed the Vergara decision and won.
Torlakson will soon be history. The candidate to support is Tony Thurmond and the candidate to defeat is Marshall Tuck.
For me, the fact that Torlakson served in the US Marine Corp (like Muller) from 1967 – 1971 says more than who funded his campaigns. He is also a Vietnam Combat vet like Muller.
Who is Marshall Tuck … the fraud and liar to defeat? He never served in the US military. He graduated from Harvard and for me, that is a big negative. After college, he worked for two years at Wall Street Bank Salmon Brothers, and he is another dirty liar.
Tuck pledged not to accept any contributions from PACs or corporations.
“Marshall Tuck’s Dirty Secret: How Right-Wing Money Infiltrates Democratic Politics”
As Diane Ravitch recently put it in her blog, “What qualifies Tuck to run the state education department? Well, he was an investment banker. The rich and powerful like him. He has friends in Hollywood. He thinks no teacher should have tenure. He failed as leader of Green Dot. He failed running the mayor’s takeover schools. That means he is an expert on reform.”
And just in case you might be thinking she exaggerates the extent to which Tuck is a tool of plutocrats, last week’s campaign report from “Parents and Teachers for Tuck for State Superintendent 2014” showed that his support is not so much from Mom and Dad and the kindergarten teachers as it is from rich folks with big plans to “disrupt” California’s schools.
https://sandiegofreepress.org/2018/03/marshall-tucks-dirty-secret-how-right-wing-money-infiltrates-democratic-politics/
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