Stephen Dyer was in the Ohio legislature when the state’s Edchoice voucher program started as a small initiative. Since then, it has grown, despite research showing that it provides no education benefit to students while taking money away from public schools.
In this post, he announces the launch of a program to educate the public about how vouchers harm their public schools. Every dollar allotted to a voucher school is a dollar less for public schools.
As districts face huge budget cuts in the coming school years, it behooves them to defend every dollar they can so their students have all they need to succeed. That’s why the folks at Real Choice Ohio, which fought for years to help districts cope with charter school losses to great success, have started a series of workshops to help districts educate and inform parents nd their communities about the dangers of the EdChoice vouchers to their kids and other kids’ futures.
The first pillar of these conferences deals with the overall problem facing districts and the kids theiy serve. I am helping to lead this pillar, complete with Power Point presentations and I will be moderating an all-star panel on the EdChoice and voucher problem next week.
Open the post to learn how to sign up.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I admire this effort. The signup seems to say you have to be a member of the blog to comment. I was going to suggest that this effort, much needed, might try to enlist donors of the $100 fee, especially since there are so-many cash-strapped districts and individuals. Making that contribution should be made as easy as possible, along with an application for participation at no fee.
Excellent idea.
Adding, are there plans for the the Initiative subsequent to the anticipated SCOTUS decision in the Espinosa v. Montana case?
The ed reform-captured state legislature got absolutely nothing accomplished that is positive or even relevant to public school students in this state this year, because they spent the entire year promoting and funding private school vouchers and then defending the vouchers when the public found out about the huge expansion.
They simply don’t serve children in public schools. They contribute no value to 90% of the students in the state. The lawmakers who support public school students and expend effort and energy on their behalf are a numerical minority, so it’s all vouchers all the time down there.
It isn’t in any way representative of the actual students and families in this state. The 10% of charter and voucher students get 90% of the effort, interest and advocacy.
It’s capture. They no longer perform the basic duties that 90% of students require.
Malfeasance made possible by Republican voters and by elected representatives and appointees who lack morals and ethics.
lack morals, ethics and actual experience
I think it’s going to require some ed reform captured politicians losing their seats before Ohio starts paying attention to the public school students in this state.
That’s how it’s happened in other states- ed reformers lose their seats and only then is any energy, advocacy or resources allocated to the unfashionable public schools.
It was true in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania and it will be true in Ohio. Nothing good happens for public school students in this state until ed reformers become a political minority in state government. They don’t start supporting public school students until they see some political peril.
Remember Scott Walkers magical overnight conversion to public school supporter? That only came about because he started to think he was going to lose an election. The conversion was too late for him as it turned out, but that’s what it takes to get their attention.
Yes!
Vote them out!