The 74 Million—a news site funded by charter supporters and billionaires—reports that Rep. Hakeem Jeffries will downplay his support for charter schools now that he is Minority Leader of House Democrats. Charters have lost ground among Democrats, and Jeffries wants to unite the party. Importantly, he doesn’t want to alienate the teachers’ unions, which are an important part of the Democratic Party’s base.
Most Democratic members of Congress realized that charters were a step towards vouchers, and that both were deeply embedded in the Trump MAGA agenda.
For a time, during the Obama years, Obama and his Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sold charters as a “progressive” idea that would nurture innovation. After thirty years, the charter claims dimmed. Too many scandals, too little innovation. Too many charter chains making profits or paying outlandish salaries. Too many charters that opened and closed within three years. Too many charters that believed harsh discipline was “innovative.”
The charter lobby considered Hakeem Jeffries one of its best friends, but that was before Trump chose Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. She was an outspoken friend of School choice, including charter schools. In recent years, red states have embraced charters and vouchers in their frenzy to privatize public schools and transfer public funding to private organizations.
Now, it’s clear to most Democrats that Republicans own the issue of charters and vouchers, not Democrats.
When Biden’s Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona proposed modest rules to clean up the federal Charter Schools Program, which hands out $440 million a year to start new charter schools, the charter lobby made wild claims about how any accountability would irreparably harm new charters, but Democrats didn’t go along. The usual charter supporters in the Senate—Booker, Bennett, and Feinstein—complained about the new rules, but when the Senate voted on a motion to overturn them, not a single Democrat voted for the motion.
Today, the strongest allies of charter schools in Congress are conservative Republicans, like Virginia Foxx (NC), chair of the House Education Committee.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Note that “downplaying” his support is not the same as no longer supporting. His actual position hasn’t changed, he’s just being quiet about it.
This may be the first time I agree with dienne77. “His actual position hasn’t changed, he’s just being quiet about it.”
Jeffries doesn’t want to lose voters. He also doesn’t want to lose the campaign contributions from the charter/voucher lobby.
This is nothing new. Elected politicians do it all the time. Tell the voters one thing and then turn around and do the opposite to keep the campaign contributions flowing from big money. He also does not want to lose the dark money support.
Totally agree. Too much money involved.
Jefferies needs to do a lot more that “downplaying.” He needs to understand that so-called choice arrived in response to the Brown decision. School choice is racist as its core even though it is often framed by civil rights language. Democrats need to stand up for public education as it is a keystone of democracy. Those in favor of so-called choice in the aforementioned post include “an alliance of wealthy interests, libertarians, the Christian right as well as some right wing fringe anarchist groups like The Proud Boys.” These radical groups seek to destroy public education, libraries and other public services because they want to dismantle democracy in this country. Democrats need put on their boxing gloves and realize that war is being waged against democracy and start supporting the educators that show up to vote for their party. They cannot afford to fail.
Democrats need to abandon the privatization of public education as it undermines the foundling principles of democracy.
cx: founding
And now for something completely different. DeSantis and allies move to rewrite decades of settled law, protect the rich and powerful against negative speech about them, institute the sort of rules that are followed in totalitarian states.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/951/BillText/Filed/PDF
Under this bill, if you wrote on Diane Ravitch’s blog that “DeSantis is a Nazi,” you could, because he is not literally a member of some party that calls itself Nazi, you would be in big trouble.
And, ofc, we have an Extreme Court where the Supreme Court used to be, so who knows how this thing would fare there. Doubtless, Clarence Thomas does not like it when one says that he is a POS for not recusing himself from cases related to Trump’s fake claims about election fraud.
Oh, btw. A lot of speech today is on the Net–is literally international, but under this law, the rules regarding what constitutes defamation would be decided state by state. So, the plaintiff could sue under the laws of the most draconian, the most repressive, of the counties in the most repressive of the states. You know, under the laws of some benighted backward swamp like certain White Citizens Council-friendly counties in Flor-uh-duh.
This bill is absurd, ofc, because a state can’t provide LESS defamation suit protection than is provided by federal law.
We are back in the era of “nullification.” What’s that I hear? Oh, it’s the shades of Governors Faubus and Wallace and Barnett joining with that of Bull Conner to cheer this.
DeSantis is big believer in states’ rights. The GOP is trying to shrink the purview of the federal government. On the other side of issues, DeSantis is trying to restrict local governance. No local community can have its own gun laws. It must comply with state gun laws. In education he is taking decisions like charter school expansion away from local school boards.
Right, right, and right again, RT!
Don’t want to hurt a politician’s feelings!
A thick head goes with a thin skin, huh?
Why do I think this new law gives immunity to everyone who tells lies about the Democrats? Because DeSantis pronounces those lies to be “truth”?
IF RON SAYS IT, IT BECOMES THE TRUTH, AS WITH GLORIOUS LEADER WHO SHINES MORE ORANGE THAN DOES THE SUN.
omg! “glorious leader who shines more orange than does the sun”
Thanks, Bob, for giving me a much needed laugh!
Downplaying support is a step in the right direction, with a great deal of room for improvement and growth. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, from my perspective in a blue state, thank goodness for Betsy DeVos.
Ron DeFascist. Gotta get it in while it’s still legal….
lol
Not counting on it, but someone needs to tell Hakeem to take some time to check out this Diane Ravitch person and how she arrived to her views today with unquestioned sincerity and conviction. He doesn’t realize how much an honest approach to education policy centered on students and teachers pays both political and personal dividends. Let’s hope he does soon.