Billy Townsend: A Handy Guide to the Latest Education Scandal in Florida

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1. kathyirwin1 says:

   February 2, 2022 at 10:28 am

   A Must Read Piece. This description is the nationwide PLAYBOOK for takeover and takedown of Public Schools. One stunning passage that certainly captures what Youngkin forces are up to in Virginia, “Destroy The Capacity To Serve Kids”.

   Florida’s Department of Education looks like little more than a state-sponsored criminal enterprise, controlled by unelected hyenas scouring local community education money for whatever scraps of flesh they can get. That’s the real narrative of the “Failure Factories” era.

   Not surprisingly, the state education system is falling apart in many places because of this corruption and the destruction of human capacity to serve kids. That is also the narrative.

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   • ciedie aech says:

     February 2, 2022 at 2:27 pm

     SO EXACTLY SAID: “Florida’s Department of Education looks like little more than a state-sponsored criminal enterprise, controlled by unelected hyenas scouring local community education money for whatever scraps of flesh they can get.” Surely it is way past time to look at what the past two decades of test and punish policy has done to parent trust in any school system to function well: now the privatizers simply step up their game and schools are easier and easier to pull apart and blame.

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2. retired teacher says:

   February 2, 2022 at 11:12 am

   This is a very thorough examination of the history of corruption in the privatized education system in Florida. It should be a cautionary tale to other states, but it likely will be dismissed as “fake news” from the those on the right that wear blinders. If nothing else comes of this scandal, Democrats need to use this egregious misuse of power against DeSantis in his bid for higher office.

   Privatization leads to corruption when favored partners and politicians collude to takeover the education of poor minority communities. Privatization is rife with politicking, cronyism and nepotism. In Florida state representatives often work hand in hand with privatizers. Some members of the legislature have financial interests in charter schools. DeSantis and the legislature have passed laws that override home rule. Local laws may not conflict with state laws. In an attempt to weaken school boards, DeSantis has proposed eliminating salaries for school board members and moving charter authorization up to the state level.

   Privatizers target poor minority communities that have little agency like Jefferson County. They do not want to invest equitably in these communities. Instead, under the guise of “choice” DeSantis and Corcoran want to substitute a cheap privatized alternative education that offers separate and unequal opportunities for poor black and brown students.

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   • retired teacher says:

     February 2, 2022 at 4:30 pm

     Here’s DeSantis refusing to condemn a Nazi rally in Orlando that even Rick Scott denounced. People can expect biased, authoritarian leadership that often defies logic. DeSantis, always willing to play the victim, claims Democrats are trying to ‘smear’ him. https://www.jewishexponent.com/2022/02/02/florida-gov-desantis-wont-condemn-nazi-rally-in-orlando/

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3. tultican says:

   February 2, 2022 at 11:27 am

   Florida’s Department of Education looks like little more than a state-sponsored criminal enterprise. This exceptional collection of materials makes the DeSantis and Cochran criminality charges look irrefutable.

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   • retired teacher says:

     February 2, 2022 at 11:51 am

     It is dubious that any action against DeSantis and Corcoran will come from the state as most key positions are held by crony conservatives. Here in North Florida there is no coverage of this scandal as Sinclair Broadcasting controls the news

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4. Wait, What? says:

   February 2, 2022 at 12:19 pm

   What a saga and story! That’s a lot to sink in and every small town local paper and rural school board should see it.

   Privatization and some charter legislation is the only thing rural republicans push back on their fellow conservatives.

   As for informing North Florida… maybe south Florida would make flyers and drop them from balloons across the border!

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5. Chiara says:

   February 2, 2022 at 12:42 pm

   Florida’s privatized systems are the model for the whole country in ed reform, and no one really looks at them.
   There is no mention or acknowlegment that any of this is happening in the national ed reform echo chamber- quite the opposite, in fact- the whole echo chamber cheerleads Florida.
   It’s this weird disconnect between local reporting and local awareness of these problems with privatized systems, and the national ed reform lobby.
   If they’re not looking at states they’ve already captured and privatized, what does that mean for their efforts to make all states just like Florida?
   They don’t test or evaluate privatized models at all. They just put one in and move on to lobby for the next one. By the time the obvious issues with privatizing K-12 education become nationally understood, they’ll have privatized the whole country and it will be impossible to go back to public systems.
   Ed reformers don’t evaluate their own work. They run “experiments” and then never look at the results.
   The US K-12 system could end up completely privatized with virtually no critical or real analysis of whether privatization is better.

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   • retired teacher says:

     February 2, 2022 at 1:13 pm

     States “rake public schools over the coals” with accountability and data collection. They subject students to mindless cyber trash masquerading as instruction and testing while most the scandals and misdeeds of charter schools are barely noticed. It is hypocritical profiteering engineered by the wealthy and their lobbyists in state legislatures.

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6. Bob Shepherd says:

   February 2, 2022 at 6:17 pm

   We in Flor-uh-duh have the most scandalous of education scandals! We’re exceptional in so many ways!

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   • leftcoastteacher says:

     February 2, 2022 at 7:07 pm

     You truly do, and that is no small feat with states like DeVosigan out there.

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     • Bob Shepherd says:

       February 2, 2022 at 9:00 pm

       haaa!!!!

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     • leftcoastteacher says:

       February 2, 2022 at 11:09 pm

       And now, this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/02/melinda-french-gates-wealth-gates-foundation
       There’s a scene in Lawrence of Arabia I love where Omar Sharif’s character is charging into a slaughter of a battle unwillingly to murder people and he says, “God. God? GOD!” Regarding French Gates giving less to the B&M Foundation: Good! Good. Good?

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     • Bob Shepherd says:

       February 3, 2022 at 11:02 am

       We in Flor-uh-duh have many reasons for pride in such matters. And don’t forget that we are home to the King of the Con, Don.

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7. SomeDAM Poet says:

   February 3, 2022 at 1:21 pm

   You’d need an instrument that was continuously updated ( like the world population meter or the McDonalds “x Billions served” sign) to keep up on the latest scandal in Florida.

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