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ACLU Slams Charter Industry in Arizona for Discriminating Against Students They Don’t Want

By dianeravitch
December 17, 2017 //
13

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a blistering report about the charter industry in Arizona, claiming that charters choose their students, instead of the other way around.

The title of the report is Schools Choosing Students: How Arizona Charter Schools Engage in Illegal and Exclusionary Student Enrollment Practices and How It Should Be Fixed

The 26-page report begins:

In the 1990s, Arizona became one of the nation’s rst adopters of charter schools. The vision was to give parents more academic choices for their children and to provide learning environments more tailored to students’ individual needs. In many cases, however, Arizona’s charter school program has had the opposite result: Charter schools are choosing students who fit their mold.

Indeed, more than two decades after charter schools emerged in Arizona, admission policies and procedures at many of the state’s charter schools unlawfully exclude some students or create barriers to their enrollment. Many schools have been able to get away with exclusionary practices for years without accountability.

Though charter schools operate independently, they are part of Arizona’s
public education system and use taxpayer funds. As such, they are required to “enroll
all eligible pupils who submit a timely application.”1 If more students apply than
can be accommodated, schools can randomly select students through a lottery system.2

Arizona charter schools are also forbidden from discriminating against students on the basis of “ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language or athletic ability.”3

But an analysis of Arizona charter schools’ enrollment materials shows many schools have policies and procedures that are clearly illegal or exclusionary. Speci cally, out of the 471 Arizona charter schools that were analyzed,
at least 262, or 56 percent, have policies that are clear violations of the law or that may discourage the enrollment of certain students.

Do you think that Betsy DeVos cares? Will the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights take action to reduce and eliminate illegal discrimination?

Categories Accountability, Arizona, Charter Schools, English Language Learners, Privatization, Special Education

Laura Chapman: Koch Brothers Want Researchers for Hispanic Propaganda Campaign

By dianeravitch
December 8, 2017 //
8

Laura Chapman has done her usual fastidious research and discovered that the Koch Brothers are offering pocket change to anyone who will offer help for their propaganda campaign to persuade Hispanic parents that privatization of school funding is good for them.

She writes:

“The Libre Institute “research” program will pay $10,000 to academics and fellows who will offer the Institute papers that offer an “analysis and proposed policy initiatives rooted in values such as economic freedom and well-being, fiscal discipline, limited government, market entrepreneurship, and personal accountability.”

“To the extent possible, each analysis should examine federal and state-level policies related to each topic and the respective impact to Hispanics in those states. Particular states to be highlighted are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia. “

“The academics who are enlisted to do research on education for the Libre Institute are asked to “review School Choice regulations and their impact on closing the achievement gap between Hispanics and other demographics.”

“Other topics for the research initiative are:

“Health Care – explore the current Medicaid system and its ability to provide adequate health care services to Hispanics in the U.S.; alternatively, or in coordination with, an analysis of the regulations and taxes under the

“Affordable Care Act and its impact on U.S. Hispanics’ ability to access care, choice and overall economic impact;

“Regulation – examine impact of regulations on Hispanic small business owners and entrepreneurs’ ability to enter markets and succeed;

“Poverty – evaluate the success of current government policies and their ability to move Hispanics out of poverty;

“Immigration – study the economic goals behind Hispanic immigration to the U.S. and determine whether immigrant populations are achieving those goals and whether current policies are an impediment to success;

“Labor / Employment – investigate the current employment situation of Hispanics in the U.S., explore any changes in employment throughout the economic recovery as compared to other demographics, and analyze polices which may further exaggerate any differences.”

“Now here are a few of the strings attached to becoming a shill for the Libre Institute.

“Each paper will be peer reviewed by at least 2 scholars in the community prior to publication. ” (“In the community” scholars are not identified but it is obvious they must meet ideological criteria).

“Once released, each paper will be the subject of a roll-out campaign highlighting the topic of the analysis, and may include additional efforts including op-ed publications, local-level town halls and legislative briefings. It is envisioned that the author of the piece will participate in a select few of these efforts. ”

“Authors will be expected to provide a non-exclusive, but otherwise unlimited license to The LIBRE Institute so that it can publicize and otherwise use the material as part of its public education activities. Authors will be encouraged to submit their pieces for publication in other journals after the paper has been published and released by The LIBRE Institute.”

Research Initiative: The LIBRE Institute Perspective Series

“The Libre Institute is not really interested in research. It wants propaganda points annotated with some references.”

Categories Arizona, Billionaires, Koch Brothers

Arizona: Save Our Schools Prepares to Battle Koch Brothers, DeVos Group, CATO, et al

By dianeravitch
December 1, 2017 //
8

The far-right haters of public schools are descending on Arizona to push vouchers, and parents are rolling up their sleeves to stop them.

Mary Bottari of the Center for Media and Democracy describes the unequal fight ahead. The billionaires have bought a narrow majority of the legislature. But more than 90% of the children in the state attend public schools. And their parents are ready to fight for their schools.

She writes:

“A full year in advance of a historic showdown on school vouchers in Arizona, the Kochs are already ladling on the cash. Through their Latino front group, Libre Institute, they have launched a six figure ad campaign targeting Arizona moms on one of the Kochs’ favorite topics, school vouchers.

“The TV ads feature a variety of Latino and Anglo “moms” singing the praises of school choice; the mailings feature cookie cutter “happy families” still featuring the “Istock” watermark. The campaign is an early attempt to sway voters who will decide whether or not to expand vouchers statewide in November 2018 when Proposition 305 appears on the ballot.

“The ads encourage people to go to the website, Arizonaschoolfacts.com emblazoned with the motto “Stand with Arizona’s Children.” The website fails to mention that it is sponsored by David and Charles Koch, two of the richest men in the world, who believe that transforming the public school system into for-profit money making operations is the “choice” Arizona moms should be making.

“In the interest of transparency, shouldn’t the outreach begin with “Hola! Somos los hermanos Koch”?

The fact is that the Kochs and their allies are doing their best to block the referendum scheduled for next spring. They are afraid the voters will reject vouchers. They are right to be afraid. An alert public will kick them out of Arizona. They can buy the legislature, but they can’t buy the public.

Categories ALEC, Arizona, Betsy DeVos, Billionaires, Koch Brothers

Arizona: Koch Brothers Fund “LIBRE Institute” to Sway Latinos Toward Vouchers

By dianeravitch
November 22, 2017 //
13

In Arizona, the legislature wants to remove all limits to the expansion of vouchers. Despite the many voucher plans already enacted, 85% of students are still enrolled in public schools. This past summer, parents, teachers, and public spirited citizens collected over 100,000 signatures on petitions to halt the implementation of the new law until a referendum is held. The referendum is scheduled for the spring of 2018.

Voucher advocates are desperate to stop the referendum. They expect that vouchers will be rejected, as they have been in every state where a referendum on vouchers was conducted. Pro-voucher groups are funding lawyers who are trying to find a way to block the vote.

Meanwhile, groups funded by the infamous Koch brothers have launched an advertising campaign targeted at Hispanic voters called “the Libre Institute.”

Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic describes their efforts here:

“The Koch network is stepping up to protect its investment in Arizona.

“An out-of-state group called the LIBRE Institute on Thursday launched a “six-figure grassroots initiative to empower and educate families in Phoenix about the policies increasing their educational opportunities.”

“Translation: Charles and David Koch and their conservative/libertarian network of zillionaire donors are prepared to spend whatever it takes to ensure that Arizona voters can’t – or won’t – kill the expanded voucher program approved earlier this year by Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature.

“Koch involvement is nothing new

“Already, the Koch network and associated dark money groups have spent millions to get a governor and Legislature that would push for and pass universal vouchers.

“Already, the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity is suing to try to knock Prop. 305 – the citizen referendum aimed at vetoing our leaders’ universal voucher law – off the 2018 ballot.

“Now comes the plan the Koch-funded LIBRE Institute to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting Arizona Latino families with ads, mailers and phone calls about the wonders of educational choice. Given that we already have plenty of educational choice, I’m guessing the campaign is really about the state’s new universal voucher law – the one that’s on hold thanks to a true grassroots referendum effort by a citizen group called Save Our Schools Arizona.”

I have opened the link to Roberts’ article three times.

The first time I opened it, I encountered two video ads promoting vouchers.

The second time, the ads were for commercial products.

The third time, the voucher ads were back.

Ironic that a story criticizing the fake “Libre Institute” contains ads funded by the same organization.

Yet again, we will discover whether big money can cancel and control democracy.

Categories Arizona, Billionaires, Koch Brothers

Is This the Worst Charter Scandal in the Nation? Part 2

By dianeravitch
October 31, 2017 //
6

Yesterday I wrote about the for-profit Benjamin Franklin Charter Chain in Arizona, which is owned by a member of the legislature, Rep. Eddie Farnsworth. He is paid $18 million by the state for his four schools. Although Arizona law says that charter boards must have open public meetings, he has won an exemption from the law because he is the only member of the board. As a one-person Board, he holds no public meetings.

It turns out there is more to the story. Jim Hall of Arozonans for Charter Accountability documents that the Benjamin Franklin charters are the only ones in the state that spend more on administration and buildings than on instruction.

“Representative Farnsworth profits from charter ownership

“It is unclear how much Representative Farnsworth profits from his sole ownership of BFCS because for-profit corporations do not have to reveal salary information. We do know that Representative Farnsworth is a multi-millionaire – BFCS has over $3 million in stockholder equity and Farnsworth is the only stockholder. BFCD also has assets of $6.7 million in cash and another $35 million in real estate holdings.

“Farnsworth profits from the ownership of his real estate firm LBE Investments LTD (LBE) as well. LBE actually owns each of the BFCS campuses and leases the schools back to BFCS at substantially more than the mortgage payments and property taxes due.”

Why do taxpayers in Arizona put up with this misdirection of public funds?

Categories Accountability, Arizona, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Privatization

Arizona: Is This the Worst Charter Scandal Ever?

By dianeravitch
October 30, 2017 //
34

Jim Hall of Arizonans for Charter School Accountability has a mission. He insists that charter schools should be accountable to taxpayers for the public money they receive. In Arizona, the charter laws are written to ensure that charter schools seldom are accountable.

He produced this example as the poster charter for total non-transparency and non-accountability.

A member of the legislature, Representative Eddie Farnsworth, owns a chain of charter schools. It has a budget of $18 Million. He is the only member of the board. State law says that “all legal actions of a public body must be made in a meeting open to the public.” State law says that such meetings must be open to the public. “All meetings of any public body shall be public meetings and all persons so desiring shall be permitted to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings. All legal action of public bodies shall occur during a public meeting.”

Every school district, charter school, public agency, and commission must abide by these laws.

But not Rep. Farnsworth’s Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools.

The state Attorney General confirms that charter schools owned by Representative Eddie Farnsworth are exempt from all Arizona Open Meeting Laws.

Hall writes:

“The four Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools in the East Valley are owned solely by Republican Representative Eddie Farnsworth as a for-profit company. Rep. Farnsworth has appointed himself the only board member of the school’s governing board and, as the result of a technicality in Arizona law, does not have to follow Arizona’s Open Meeting Laws. Rep. Farnsworth has free rein to conduct all matters pertaining to the expenditure of over $18 million in public money every year in complete secrecy – there are no public meetings at Benjamin Franklin and there can be no Open Meeting Law requests for information.”

Jim Hall’s ACSA filed a complaint in March 2017 against the four Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools for failing to provide information about the location and notice of board meetings on their website as required by law. As of October 25, 2017, the school websites are still out of compliance with Open Meeting Laws.

Rep. Farnsworth says that he is exempt from the laws because he is the sole member of the governing board. He alone controls $18 Million and is not obliged to hold public meetings.

Jim Hall, founder of Arizonans for Charter School Accountability, noted: “As a member of the Arizona Legislature, you would hope Rep. Farnsworth would set an example for assuring charter schools are spending tax dollars in a transparent manner. Instead, Rep. Farnsworth participates in the worst of practices of deception and secrecy that undermine the credibility of “public” charter schools. There is nothing “public” about Rep. Farnsworth’s charter schools.”

Contact Jim Hall

Arizonans for Charter School Accountability

arizcsa1000@gmail.com

azcsa.org

Categories Accountability, Arizona, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

David Safier: Koch Brothers Push Libertarian Doctrine into Arizona High Schools

By dianeravitch
October 30, 2017 //
48

David Safier writes in the Tucson Weekly about well-funded efforts by the billionaire Koch Brothers to promote their anti-government, free-market libertarian views into local high schools.

“The course was created by the University of Arizona’s Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, which designed the curriculum, wrote the textbook and offers workshops for high school teachers instructing them on how to teach the class. The Freedom Center, which has been at UA since 2011, gets a majority of its funding from the Koch Brothers and a wealthy Arizona donor couple who are big contributors to and play an influential part in the Koch network.

“The course is also being offered in the Amphitheater, Vail and Sahuarita school districts and at least seven private and charter schools in Pima and Maricopa counties.

“The Center for the Philosophy of Freedom at the UA and similar centers at ASU are the latest in a continuing effort by the Koch Brothers to infuse institutions of higher education with their libertarian-fueled philosophy. The Koch’s long term goal is for their economic and political views to filter down from the university into mainstream public opinion, and to use their influence with politicians to create legislation favorable to their ideological and economic interests.

“A part of that effort is to create curriculum, class materials and entire courses to be used in high schools around the country.

“In the 1980s, the Koch Brothers began buying their way into universities by setting up departments and think tanks. The Koch-funded centers lend scholarly credibility to the brothers’ libertarian philosophy by teaching courses, writing papers for academic journals and conducting seminars for like-minded academics. The first serious funding venture began in the mid-1980s at Virginia’s George Mason University. At the time the university wasn’t known for the quantity or quality of its scholarship. Since then, it has grown, due to the Koch’s money and influence, into the largest research university in the state.

“Ground zero for the Koch’s efforts at George Mason University is the Mercatus Center. The Washington Post described it as a “staunchly anti-regulatory center funded largely by Koch Industries Inc.” A fellow at the Cato Institute, which was founded and funded by the Koch Brothers, referred to it as a “libertarian mecca.”

“Over the years, the Koch Brothers expanded their academic reach until they were subsidizing programs at more than 300 institutes of learning. From 2005 to 2015 alone, the Koch Foundation gave $145 million to universities, including $95 million to George Mason University and the Mercatus Center. Unlike most major university donors, the Kochs often maintain direct or indirect control over the departments their money creates and the professors they hire.

“Scholarly work tends to be too detailed and complex for public consumption, so the Koch Brothers also fund institutes and organizations outside of universities to shape the academic material into more easily digestible form (the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation are two well known examples). Members of their staff generate position papers, write articles for magazines and newspapers, and appear on television news programs. They also work with sympathetic politicians to formulate and draft legislation.

“University of Arizona’s Center for the Philosophy of Freedom began in 2011. The Koch Brothers put in a million dollars to help start the center, though the largest portion of the funding came from Ken and Randy Kendrick, as well as another donor who remains anonymous. Ken Kendrick is the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Randy Kendrick is a lawyer who is deeply involved in right wing causes. Because of their million-dollar-plus donations to the Koch’s donor network, including support for the Mercatus Center, the Kendricks are charter members and influential players in the Koch network.

“From its inception in 2011, UA’s Freedom Center had its eye on Arizona’s high schools. That year David Schmidtz, the founding director of the Center, spoke of his plans with Tim Vanderpool of the Tucson Weekly: “Schmidtz says the center plans to offer a degree program in economic instruction for high school teachers, and to generate texts for K-12 education. ‘We aim not only to produce the teachers, but the materials that are getting taught.'”

“Schmidtz is one of the three co-authors of ‘Ethics, Economy, and Entrepreneurship’, the textbook used in the high school course.

“The Koch Brothers began their efforts to make inroads into high school education with Youth Entrepreneurs, which was founded by Charles Koch and his wife Elizabeth in 1991 as a program to teach basic business skills to young people. It expanded its mission in 2009 when it created what the organization referred to as “a high school free market and liberty-based course,” complete with course materials and training for teachers. By 2014, more than 1,000 students were taking the course in Kansas and Missouri. YE has expanded into other states as well. It has a regional office in Phoenix.”

The goal of the Koch brothers is to install their free-market ideology in high schools across the country.

Categories Arizona, Billionaires, Economics, Propaganda

Arizona May Revise Phony School Letter Grades, and They Will Still Be Phony

By dianeravitch
October 17, 2017 //
7

Giving letter grades to schools is a fraud.

In New York City, the Department of Health gives letter grades to restaurants, and almost every restaurant gets an A unless there are unhealthy, unsanitary conditions discovered by inspectors, like mouse droppings in the kitchen.

School letter grades attempt to grade schools largely by test scores, whether performance or growth. The scores largely reflect the affluence or poverty of the students. If you want to understand how stupid it is to judge schools by test scores, read Daniel Koretz’s new book, “The Testing Charade: Pretending to Improve Education.” Give a copy to your superintendent and the school board.

A school is a complex institution with a complex mission, far more complex than a restaurant.

Arizona has decided to recalculate it’s fraudulent school grades.

Could it be because the charter school in Snowflake, Arizona, got an F? That is the Charter beloved by Sylvia Allen, chair of the State Senate Education Committee?

However they are recalculated, they will still be fraudulent.

Categories Accountability, Arizona, Education Reform, Failure, Fraud, Testing

What You Need to Know about the Chair of Arizona’s Senate Commmittee on Education

By dianeravitch
October 15, 2017 //
6

I wrote earlier today about how disappointed the chair of the Senate Committee on Education in Arizona was when the charter school in her district was graded F. She felt sure this couldn’t be right. As chair of the Senate Committee on Education, she must have approved the wacky idea of giving letter grades to schools. Yet now this ALEC-Jeb Bush strategy has blighted the charter she insisted upon.

You should know more about Sylvia Allen.

You Don’t Know, What You Don’t Know

Linda Lyon, President-elect of the Arizona School Boards Association, writes:

“Yes, the AZ Republic called Senator Sylvia Allen “one of the best-known lightning rods in the AZ Legislature.” Her stated belief that the Earth is only 6,000 years old and her suggestion that church attendance be mandated as a way to “get back to a moral rebirth in this country” are just two of the reasons for her notoriety. I was shocked when I heard of her appointment as Chair of the Senate Education Committee, but it shouldn’t have surprised me.

“After all, I doubt her religious fervency is the reason AZ Senate President Biggs selected Allen to be the person who will control what education proposals make it out of the AZ Senate. Rather, I suspect it is her support of charter schools like the George Washington Academy she helped found in Snowflake. Listed as the “Administrative Program Manager” on their “GWA Teachers and Staff” page, Senator Allen’s employment with this school makes me wary of her ability to be impartial when it comes to legislation that favors charter schools over public district schools.

“Please know that I am not a charter “hater.” I recognize there are charter schools that fill critical needs. What I am, is realistic about the impact the diversion of tax payer dollars to privately managed charter and private schools is having on our public school districts and their students. Make no mistake; this is a zero sum game. When charter schools win, public district schools, often the hub of small communities, lose.

“Senator Allen’s George Washington Academy may be located in the community of Snowflake, but it is managed by Education Management Organization (EMO) EdKey Inc., a for-profit management company that operates 18 schools in Arizona. Although its schools are technically “public” there are numerous differences between them (and all charters) and your average community district schools.

“For starters, the requirements for accountability and transparency are very different. Public district schools have locally elected governing board members that are accountable to the public. Not so with charter schools. In looking at the George Washington Academy website, they had no information about the school board on their school board page, and under school board agendas, only a statement that says: “Sorry, but that directory is empty.” I had to go to the corporate website (sequoiaschools.org) to see the names of their six governing board members, but there was no access to board agendas or minutes.“

Categories Accountability, Arizona, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform

Arizona: Charter School Graded F in Home District of Charter Booster

By dianeravitch
October 15, 2017 //
10

The most important thing you should know about school grades is that they are a failed and absurd policy cooked up by Jeb Bush to stigmatize schools and set them up for privatization. Usually, they reflect the demographics of the school community. Often, they are totally meaningless. The school in my neighborhood went from an A to an F in one year, even though nothing had changed. School grades are stupid, and I’m happy to say that Mayor de Blasio abandoned them in New York City.

However, they were just initiated in Arizona, and there was a big surprise in store for State Senator Sylvia Allen. She is chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. The charter that she helped to bring to her district rated an F. She was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe it.

“Josselyn Berry, co-director at ProgressNow Arizona, said in a press release this week that Allen “for years preached the benefits of charter schools and vouchers for students and parents, but ironically the school she co-founded has gotten the lowest rating a school can get.”

Senator Allen couldn’t accept that her favorite charter school got an F.

“Allen also shifted blame to the new grading system, which the State Board of Education spent more than a year creating because state law requires schools be graded.

“I have grandchildren who go to this school and I have personally seen the help it has given to children. It is not an F school,” Allen said of George Washington Academy. Allen said she only works part-time for Edkey, George Washington Academy’s charter holder, leading a character program at the school.

“I have visited many schools in my district and if you had asked me to give them a grade I would have said they are all A’s but when I looked at what this new system gave them it was not a true reflection of what they do and how successful they are.”

Maybe Senator Allen will take the lead in abolishing the school grading system. Even though ALEC thinks it is a good idea, she can see with her own eyes that it doesn’t work. Besides, the school is already a charter. You can’t privatize a school that is already private.

Categories Accountability, ALEC, Arizona, Education Industry, Failure
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