Great news from Tennessee!
The Speaker of the House, Glenn Canada, who rammed through a voucher bill, was replaced by Cameron Sexton, an anti-voucher Republican.
Marta W. Aldrich of Chalkbeat reports:
The House overwhelmingly elected Rep. Cameron Sexton on Friday as its speaker to replace Glen Casada, who stepped down earlier this month. While both men are party loyalists, Sexton voted against the voucher bill that Casada strong-armed through the chamber before a series of scandals rocked him out of his leadership job….
Sexton has strong ties to public education. He attended schools in Knox County before graduating in 1989 from Oak Ridge High School in neighboring Anderson County, where he had access to foreign languages, advanced placement courses, and early college credits before heading to the University of Tennessee. His mother was a kindergarten teacher for more than 30 years, and his grandfather was a principal. He and his wife, Lacey, have chosen public schools for their own children.
That family history, he said, was likely a factor behind his consistent votes against voucher bills, but he cites philosophical reasons, too.
“We should do everything we can to improve all public schools in the state of Tennessee so they can be successful,” he said. “I would rather go that route than the voucher route.”
Pastors for Tennessee Children have been working alongside parents and teachers to protect public schools and separation of church and state. Hallelujah.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Casada’s scandal – “His chief of staff admitted to sending messages amid racism allegations”. A quote from the chief of staff, “…with God’s grace I’ve been able to achieve so much in the years since.” Like vouchers?
Casada stands accused of lying about media’s facts and about his opponents when they outed a Republican house representative who was an admitted sexual predator.
Background
Tennessee- 3rd most religious state. Nationally, white evangelicals are less likely to support public investment policies to spur economic growth. Starting in 2009, polls show white evangelicals became more economically conservative with the rise of the Koch’s Tea Party.
perfect conditions for training parents to fear and avoid those dangerous “government” schools…
It’s good news, but notice that article and all the coverage out of Tennessee on education.
Public schools and public school students aren’t even mentioned. Tennessee lawmakers concluded their education agenda for this session with no substantive effort, work or interest shown to 90% of students in the state. Ed reform so completely captured that statehouse that the entire focus is private school vouchers, although the vast majority of students and families attend public schools.
It’s nuts. They simply refuse to work on behalf of public school families and students, because they are ideologically opposed to public schools. It isn’t fair to public school students OR taxpayers, who are supposedly paying all of them to work on “public education”. Those schools and students are the dead-last priority – addressed only AFTER the ed reform lobby gets their wish list on vouchers and charters and ONLY if public school students and schools can be used as a bargaining chip to get vouchers or charters. This is wrong. It’s bad government. They’re not doing their jobs.
If public schools were mentioned, would it be to announce that Fordham was writing the graduation requirements because the legislature is ALEC owned? (Sarcasm related to Ohio)
Imagine if there were a statehouse where the thousands of public employees who work there actually provided some practical benefit to PUBLIC schools in the course of a legislative session?
Apparently this is too much for the public to ask. We cannot have that. Public schools may not be discussed among people who are paid to work on “public education”
Gates funds the State Education Technology Directors Association (public employees). SETDA’s blessed with ranked private partners (Gold, Silver, Event, Strategic).
The public is far down the pecking order. They only supply the tax dollars that the politicians of the rich spend as they choose.
That explains Fordham referring to the public as Goliath (tongue in cheek).
Vouchers and Charters are TWO BIG HEISTS.
The attack on Public Education, charters, and vouchers have made America a FRACTURED country where GREED and Jim Crow flourish.
Thank you, Diane!
Casada was investigated for bribing legislators to change their vote on the voucher issue. Count me out of the rejoicing until we quit testing and start investing.
Celebrate each small victory.
I do not get this comment: Pastors for Tennessee Children have been working alongside parents and teachers to protect public schools and separation of church and state. STOP.
What does school vouchers have to do with the separation of church and state?
I thought that the Supreme Court decided that back in 2002, in an Ohio case.
Pastors for Texas Children blocked vouchers in Texas. The issue was not decided for all states in the Supreme Court, but only in those states where the legislatures voted to give public money to religious schools. Texas has not voted to do that. Most state constitutions continue to ban public funding of religious schools. Tennessee voted–by one vote–to approve vouchers, but they have not yet been funded. They may never be.
Until the state legislature votes otherwise or the Supreme Court overrules the states’ ability to restrict payments to religious schools, you should pay for your child’s religious education. If it is not important enough for you to pay for it yourself, why should the public pay?
At the Our Catholic Schools the Diocese of Columbus, the site identifies, “Ohio Scholarship/Voucher programs available- EdChoice”.
I presume if EdChoice is providing the vouchers the donors are getting a tax write-off. So, the question about who pays is a matter of semantics.
My error- EdChoice is the state’s program for scholarships/vouchers.
To the dismay of the billionaire-funded Fordham which paid for Professor Figlio’s study of Ohio vouchers, his research found that they didn’t work to improve outcomes.
The government provides subsidies to individuals who are attending religious institutions of higher learning. For example: Students attending Ohio Wesleyan University, receive BEOGs. Students attending Southern Methodist University may be on the GI Bill. The government provides financing to students attending religiously-run educational institutions. There is no constitutional or establishment (of religion) involved.
Students may even be trained to serve as clergy, and be sent to a religious college, to be trained as ministers, all on the public treasury.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witters_v._Washington_Department_of_Services_for_the_Blind
Higher education is voluntary.
K-12 education is compulsory.
The Dayton Daily News reported in 2019, that Ohio taxpayers, through the EdChoice program, paid student tuition for the following schools in one city alone, Dayton – 21 students at the Dayton Islamic School, 10 each at 2 Catholic elementary schools and 200-260 each at 6 Catholic high schools. Statewide, from 2007- 2018, participation in Ed Choice grew from 2600 students to 22,500.
Ohio is governed by the Koch’s ALEC. Presumably, oligarchs don’t necessarily agree with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Inspiration for all of us who have been fighting for so long for the recognition of two things– both of which Mr Sexton regards as crucial…. that public schools provide first class education and thus opportunity to our people, as it did for him ( for me and for both my sons.) those; and also,, Mr Sexton. nailed the reason that he knew ho crucial the CONVERSATION of authentic teachers are to recognizing what LEARNING LOOKS LIKE and what LEARNING REQUIRED…. and it ain’t vouchers!
But out there –in our nation– where everyone is busy, stressed and unaware of the shenanigans ongoing in the 15,880 separates school systems in FIFTy states– the only conversation for too long is the one screaming from the media –which is owned– lock ,stock and industry, by the Power-elite$. j
This link is to just a small list of the billionaires and companies who support the demolition of the INSTITUTION of Public Education:
Click to access eic-oct_11.pdf
Thus, it is foolish to expect any other conversation then what “THEY push, like — for example — “these lazy, bad teachers,” and the great “need” for ‘REFORM’ so people have a ‘choice! ‘
LOL like they dof or health care!
Mr Sexton needs to run for Congress… but for now… it is on thel ocal level that nothing gets done… which is why Liz Warren is going to be the winner.
I know this, because I read widely, and in many publications and venues I barely heard her name. Now there may be a Page 6 article on the middle right column. To see her name in an Oped, or a favorable oped, or any polling data that actually shows how well-liked she is as she travels LOCALLY.
She doesn’t need to stand in front of a rally to get voters… she goes to places like local towns in Tennessee. Getting to know what is needed now, in those places will be he platform…. she has a plan for that…just as Cameron Sexton does!!!
And in a related story, Steve Gill, conservative talk show host and mouthpiece for trump out of Nashville, is still in a jail for not paying 170,000 in child support. Casado has ties to Gill, who has long standing ties to Tennesse’s Republican Party. Perhaps this turning on Casada and the jailing of Gill, who has resigned from the Star, is a ploy by the party to,clean up its act. It is an act.