Last June, blogger Michael Kohlhaas received a huge trove of documents from the Green Dot Charter Chain in response to his request filed under the state’s Public Record Act. He has been reviewing these documents and releasing them.
In this post, he summarizes a Powerpoint presentation (and provides a link to the actual document) in which the California Charter Schools Association lays out its goals.
He headlines the post:
A SECRET POWERPOINT FROM THE CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION REVEALS 2019 LOBBYING PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES — IN PARTICULAR THEY CONSIDER POSITIONING THEMSELVES AS CHAMPIONS OF EQUITY AND EQUALITY BUT WORRY THAT THEIR SUPPORTERS MIGHT SEE THAT AS “MISSION CREEP” — THEY CONSIDER SUPPORTING EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY SCHOOLS BUT WORRY THAT SUCH A POSITION MIGHT ALIENATE THE “CHOICE WING” OF THEIR BASE — THEY LIST AMONG THE GREATEST THREATS THE BARE POSSIBILITY THAT CHARTER SCHOOLS MIGHT BE REQUIRED TO EARTHQUAKE PROOF THEIR BUILDINGS TO THE SAME STANDARD AS PUBLIC SCHOOLS — IN SHORT THIS IS A SEETHING STEW OF PRIVILEGE — AND ARROGANCE — AND CLUELESS SELF-EXPOSURE — IN OTHER WORDS MORE OF THE DAMN SAME STUFF!…
If you want to understand this powerful lobbying group, which spends millions of dollars every year to protect the charter industry and to block accountability and transparency, you have to read the post.
He adds:
As you must know by now the California Charter School Association is the premiere wingnut loony tunes mouth-frothing privatization advocacy organization in the state. And we’ve been learning an unprecedentedly awful1 lot about them since June due to a huge set of records2 released by Green Dot Charter Schools in response to a request I made of them under the California Public Records Act.
These records are so rich, so complex, so voluminous, that it’s taking me freaking forever to go through them, sort them, write about them, and I’m therefore laying them on you in increments. And the increment at hand is this powerpoint presentation, created by the CCSA in August 2018 to explain the next year’s goals and fears to their members. I have also exported this as a PDF for ease of use.3There are also JPEGs of the slides at the end of the post if that’s better.
And my goodness, what a revealing heap of steaming and pernicious arrogance we have here. Under recent wins, for instance, we learn that the CCSA “Conditioned Legislature to defeat a half dozen harmful policy and budget proposals in preparation for less reliable Executive branch.” That’s the California Charter School Association right there telling how they “conditioned” the Legislature in preparation for Gavin “Less Reliable than Jerry Brown” Newsom’s ascension to the throne.
And further down the line we learn the assumptions behind CCSA’s policymaking agenda for 2019, probably actually for always, but I don’t (yet) have the evidence. And again, what’s revealed is appalling but not surprising. For instance they pledge that “CCSA will seek compromise on legislation that minimally constrains flexibility but only in exchange for new entitlements.” This item casts the CCSA’s support of SB126, which makes it exceedingly clear that charters are subject to both the CPRA and the Brown Act, in an interesting light.
Perhaps in 2018 they thought that this new law only “minimally constrain[ed] flexibility” and that they were going to get a bunch of goodies in return. But I’m willing to bet they’re rethinking that concession now given that the fruits of a single CPRA request have subjected them to months of pain-writhing exposure, some scathing articles in the Los Angeles Times, and may ultimately end the career of theirmanchild knight in shining hair product, Nick Melvoin.
And their listing of what they see as the greatest threats against them for 2019 is very instructive as well. I’m not up on the details enough to comment on all of these but the ones I do understand are as appalling as the rest of it.
If you thought that the CCSA was discussing how to improve education for all of the state’s children, you would be wrong. Their discussion is about power and protecting the self-interest of their industry.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Shout out to Ann O’Leary, the Governor’s chief of staff and Silicon Valley’s fav.
Is it really “secret”? I’m glad that this was revealed but go to any ed reform site or think tank or the US Department of Education.
100% negative about public schools and public school students. I can stand the anti-public school propaganda- they are, after all, ideologues who oppose public entities of any kind- but the treatment of public school STUDENTS, who are consistently depicted as violent, drug addicted low achievers, is reprehensible. It isn’t fair to throw them under the ol ed reform bus to reach the ideological goal.
I’m old enough to remember when ed reform started their sales pitch. Remember that?
We were going to get rid of those nasty, low class labor union lobbyists and replace them with pure, abstract Data.
Now that they’ve flooded every statehouse in the country with lobbyists for government contracts to run charter schools that seems quaint, doesn’t it?
What’s the difference between charter lobbyists and lobbyists for teachers unions? Their lobbyists are morally superior to others? How are they different than any other government contractor? Because they gave themselves a halo and sanctimoniously scold public schools and icky low class labor unionists they’re somehow not lobbying for government funding? They’re the definition of self-interested.
How are charter schools (government contractors) lobbying against regulation and transparency any different than any of the other of thousands of industries that exist exclusively on public funding lobbying against regulation and transparency?
Because they say they are? They have an inherent and unquestioned moral superiority simply because they have slick marketing that proclaims it to be so?
It’s a government contract. They line up and lobby lawmakers just like any other contractor. Of course they don’t want regulation and transparency. The food service contractor doesn’t want those things either, but the food service contractor at least doesn’t pretend it’s some moral position.
Anyone who uses the phrase of “public charter school” is either uninformed or purposefully deceptive.
Privatization has been a slippery slope designed to normalize moving public funds into private pockets. They scheme, manipulate and politick their way into a greater market share, and none of it is about doing what is best for students. Public schools are the backbone of our democracy. They offer the efficient and cost effective way to deliver education to students. Many of the rules in public schools are in place to ensure that students receive appropriate education, that students are safe and justly treated.
Private charters schools often skirt legal obligations, and amateur education providers place may place young people in harm’s way to save money. Lack of oversight and accountability does not benefit students.
This post gives us a bird’s eye view into the organized lobbying that gives charters access to public money without requiring schools to be necessarily safe or even stable. Parents are rarely informed that these parallel schools may operate in dangerous buildings with untrained associates in charge. At the same time the charter lobby tries to overburden public schools with testing and bureaucratic nonsense in order to make charter schools appear more acceptable.
Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé and commented:
If you want to understand this powerful lobbying group, which spends millions of dollars every year to protect the charter industry and to block accountability and transparency, you have to read the post.
Right now, my school administration is trying to weasel out of the district’s commitment to honor the strike agreement and reduce class size. They keep asking us teachers and the parents to sign waivers allowing classes to exceed the new caps. I suspect that the district is encouraging them to do so, as central funding of more teachers is being withheld while principals negotiate with community stakeholders. They probably want as many schools as possible to waive their rights that we fought for on strike before they open the funds.
My students are working on essays using all the literature we’ve read so far to convince an audience that the world needs more compassion and less avarice. A gifted student showed me his progress on the topic of the future of our climate and commented, “The fact that people don’t care about children makes me so sad!”
I replied, “Yes, but it doesn’t make me sad, it makes me angry.”
The class, not used to hearing me talk about being angry all replied like, “What? You never get angry, Mr. LeftCoastTeacher.”
I said, “Yes I do, actually. I get angry at greed and injustice. My anger motivates me to stand up and fight — with peaceful action — for what’s right,” for which I received some adulation.
The CCSA’s dastardly goals are not depressing; they are enraging. Los Angeles cannot afford to hold hands with and do business with charter organizations. Compromise and incrementalism are not acceptable. They want to obliterate us. We need to stand up to them. Do not give an inch! Do not waive your rights! Stand up! Walk out! Every time. Fight!
What is so revealing? CTA lobbyists are at deadly and wealthy!
But this is a great tactic. I think the school reformers, who by the way are a rising tide of black and brown community members, will see the validity in filing such records request as well. There is dirt out there.
America is asleep at the wheel when it comes to the fact that black and brown kids are being prepared for prison instead of college by the status quo and predominantly white teaching force. This is a civil rights issue that is rising.
To the foes of the school choice movement…be careful of the next moves!
Those deadly CTA operatives, ya gotta watch out for em. They have dirt, some sort of dirt. Brown or red, maybe mud, we don’t know, but dirt.
America is asleep at the wheel. We have Betsy DeVos driving! Holy cow! She’s so right, wants to end public education for the vast majority of students to give to the few, the future private jet pilots, the future private yacht captains. Black and brown kids are mass incarcerated, but let’s not blame drug or minimum sentencing laws — it’s public services’ fault. Status quo. Civil rights. Blah.
Blah. Anti-freedomalisticals, foes of freedomania, be careful of the next moves (which will be revealed at a later date as determined by Choice). Be careful. Of something to be announced later.
all while investments in private prisons and detention centers are notably growing: so long as more and more investors/funds/pensions depend upon returns, the bodies must be prepared