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NAACP Demands Reform of Charters!

By dianeravitch
July 26, 2017 //
155

The NAACP today released a strong report demanding the reform and regulation the charter school industry. The NAACP report calls for a flat prohibition of for- profit charters and for-profit charter management companies. It says that only school districts should be allowed to authorize charters. It says that charter teachers should be certified.

The task force of the NAACP said that “while high quality, accountable and accessible charters can contribute to educational opportunity, by themselves, even the best charters are not a substitute for more stable, adequate and equitable investments in public education in the communities that serve our children.”

The NAACP report boldly acknowledges that charters are part of a public-funded system. It says that it makes no sense to strip funding from the public schools that enroll the great majority of students in order to fund a parallel system that is usually no better than the public system and often worse.

Carol Burris analyzes the report here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/07/26/naacp-report-charter-schools-not-a-substitute-for-traditional-public-schools-and-many-need-reform/?utm_term=.9d91271f673d

There is also a link to the full text of the NASCP report and resolution.

This report strips away the claims of charter advocates who say that they are advancing civil rights. They are not. They are undermining public education by stripping students and resources away from the public schools.

The NAACP recognizes that the best way to advance civil rights in education is to assure a strong, accountable,and equitable system of public schools.

Like every national organization, the NAACP relies on major donors to survive. By standing strong against privatization of public schools, the NAACP has demonstrated courage and integrity. I add the NAACP to the honor roll of this blog, with admiration and respect.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Corporate Reform, Courage, Education Industry, Equity, For-Profit, Honor Roll

Stephen Dyer: Weep Not for ECOT! Its Profits Are Secure

By dianeravitch
July 26, 2017 //
5

Stephen Dyer writes from Ohio about the unfolding saga of ECOT, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow.

http://10thperiod.blogspot.com/2017/07/even-with-layoffs-ecot-will-make-killing.html?m=1

It was recently ordered by a state court to return $60 million that it had charged for educating students who never logged on. ECOT complained bitterly, but the state audit showed that its enrollment figures were inflated.

ECOT is owned by William Lager, who has donated millions of dollars to elected officials over the years and received special treatment. He has collected hundreds of millions of dollars to run a virtual K-12 school with the lowest graduation rate in the nation. He thought that his generosity to politicians would protect him from accountability from abysmal results, but it hasn’t.

Lager took out ads (at taxpayer expense) to warn that he might have to lay off 350 employees if the state forced him to return a portion of his revenues. It would “hurt the children.”

The state is willing to allow him to pay his debt at $2.5 million a month for two years.

Boo hoo!

Dyer says she’d no tears for Lager. He will still clear at least 30% on his investment, probably more. He will still make a killing.

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reform, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Ohio, Privatization, Virtual Charter Schools

Florida: The Corruption and Conflicts of Interest Behind the Charter Industry

By dianeravitch
July 23, 2017 //
15

In some states, like Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, charter operators get what they want by making campaign contributions to state legislators and the governor.

Florida is different. The charter operators and members of their families are members of the legislature. They shamelessly engage in self-dealing. You may well wonder: How can this be legal? I don’t know.

This article in the Miami Herald by Fabiola Santiago describes the flagrant abuse of power that typifies charter legislation.

He writes:

“Florida’s broad ethics laws are a joke.

“If they weren’t, they would protect Floridians from legislators who profit from the charter-school industry in private life and have been actively involved in pushing — and successfully passing — legislation to fund for-profit private schools at the expense of public education.

“Some lawmakers earn a paycheck tied to charter schools.

“One of them is Rep. Manny Diaz, the Hialeah Republican who collects a six-figure salary as chief operating officer of the charter Doral College and sits on the Education Committee and the K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee.

“Some lawmakers have close relatives who are founders of charter schools.

“One of them is the powerful House Speaker, Richard Corcoran, the Land O’Lakes Republican whose wife founded a charter school in Pasco County that stands to benefit from legislation. He was in Miami Wednesday preaching the gospel of charter schools as “building beautiful minds.”

“Other lawmakers are founders themselves or have ties to foundations or business entities connected to charter schools.

“One of them is Rep. Michael Bileca, the Miami Republican who chairs the House Education Committee and is listed as executive director of the foundation that funds True North Classical Academy, attended by the children of another legislator. Bileca is also a school founder.

“These three legislators were chief architects in the passage of a $419 million education bill that takes away millions of dollars from public schools to expand the charter-school industry in Florida at taxpayer expense.

“They crafted the most important parts of education bill HB 7069 in secret, acting in possible violation of the open government laws the Legislature is perennially seeking to weaken. There was no debate allowed and educators all across the state were left without a voice in the process.

“It’s no wonder it all went down in the dark. It’s a clear conflict of interest for members of the Florida Legislature who have a stake in charter schools to vote to fund and expand them. Their votes weaken the competition: public schools.

“This issue has nothing to do with being pro or against school choice. It’s about the abuse of power and possible violations of Florida statutes.

“The bill funds, to the tune of $140 million, an expansion of for-profit charter schools in the neighborhoods of D and F public schools, handing over to the private sector not only public money but allowing and encouraging charter schools to take the best students. In other words, instead of pouring those public resources into struggling public schools, the Legislature is turning publicly funded education into two school systems. In the struggling but also vibrant public system where choice already exists through magnets, there’s oversight and regulations that ensure standards. The charter system — which since its inception has demonstrated quite a range, including well-documented flops — is a free-for-all. Private corporations operating the schools make the rules.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/fabiola-santiago/article151418277.html#storylink=cpy

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Closing schools, Education Industry, Florida, For-Profit, Fraud, Funding

Education in Florida–Betsy DeVos’s Model for the Nation–is in Chaos

By dianeravitch
July 23, 2017 //
11

Valerie Strauss summarizes here the mess created in Florida by former Governor Jeb Bush’s harsh accountability policies and the legislation passed recently to enrich the charter industry at the expense of public schools across the state.

She begins:

“The K-12 education system in Florida — the one that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos likes to praise as a model for the nation — is in chaos.

“Traditional public school districts are trying to absorb the loss of millions of dollars for the new school year that starts within weeks. That money, which comes from local property taxes, is used for capital funding but now must be shared with charter schools as a result of a widely criticized $419 million K-12 public education bill crafted by Republican legislative leaders in secret and recently signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott — at a Catholic school.

“Critics, including some Republicans, say the law will harm traditional public schools, threaten services for students who live in poverty and curb local control of education while promoting charter schools and a state-funded voucher program.

“The law creates a “Schools of Hope” system that will turn failing traditional public schools into charter schools that are privately run but publicly funded. The law also sets out the requirement for districts to share capital funding.

“The man behind the Schools of Hope initiative was Republican House Speaker of Florida Richard Corcoran, whose wife founded a charter school in Pasco County. But as this recent Miami Herald opinion piece notes, a number of Republican lawmakers in the state legislature have financial stakes in the charter industry. “Florida’s broad ethics laws are a joke,” wrote Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago.”

School districts are planning to sue to stop the implantation of the charter industry’s raid on public school budgets.

When you read about this mess, bear in mind that this is what DeVos wants to inflict on the nation.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Bush, Jeb, Charter Schools, Corporate Reform, Disruption, Education Industry, Florida, For-Profit, Fraud

Utah: Should Charters Be Allowed to Seize Private Property by Eminent Domain

By dianeravitch
July 22, 2017 //
35

We have seen how privately managed charter schools are exempt from transparency and accountability, thanks to the big bucks that pave their way.

But Utah is considering a new low for preferential treatment of charters. Utah legislators are discussing whether charters should have the power of eminent domain, to seize private properties for their own use.

Two conservative principles are at odds on this issue. First, Republicans have a high regard for property rights. Second, Republicans have in recent years become the party of privatization. So, who wins? Property rights or charter schools?

Consider the homeowner who opens his mail to discover that a corporate charter chain is taking charge of his home and he has 30 days to vacate the premises.

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, For-Profit

Betsy DeVos’s Speech to the Far-Right ALEC Organization

By dianeravitch
July 20, 2017 //
18

Delve into the mind of Betsy DeVos.

She is the first Secretary of Education ever to address the American Legislative Exchange Council, the secretive far-right organization funded by the Koch brothers, the DeVos family, and major corporations, with the intent of getting rid of unions, standards for teachers, environmental regulations, and anything that gets in the way of corporations.

Here is the speech she delivered today, released by the U.S. Department of Education.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Home Schooling, Privatization

Florida: Palm Beach Post Urges School Board to Join the Lawsuit Against Horrendous HB 7069

By dianeravitch
July 20, 2017 //
6

Florida parents and educators opposed HB 7069, a bill which hurts public schools and enriches charter schools (private contractor schools), but the legislature didn’t listen. (Key legislators have financial ties to the charter industry.) They urged Governor Rick Scott to veto it but he didn’t listen.

Now school boards, led by the one in Broward County, are suing to block the law and have it declared unconstitutional.

The Palm Beach Post urges the Palm Beach school board to join the suit. Perhaps the courts will listen.

“Kudos then to the Broward County School Board for being the first to get this legal action started. It has outlined five grounds to challenge the law. Among them, aspects friendly to charter schools such as making it easier for a charter — or “School of Hope” — to open near an academically struggling traditional public school.

“Perhaps the most salient argument, however, will be that the omnibus legislation violates the Florida Constitution’s requirement that each bill deal with a single subject. To help guarantee passage, the law — championed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran — mashed together bills that dealt with, among other things, eliminating a state math exam, requiring most public elementary schools to offer daily recess, and providing more money for teacher bonuses and a school-voucher program for students with disabilities.

“If that doesn’t raise questions about the single-subject rules, how about this: The constitution also requires that a bill’s “one subject” be “briefly expressed in the title.” The title for HB 7069 is more than 4,000 words.

“Corcoran’s office says the law — which essentially rewrites the state’s public school system — falls under the “single subject” of “K-12 education policy.”

“The Speaker called the Broward lawsuit “another example of the educational bureaucracy putting the adults who administer the schools ahead of the children who attend the schools.”

“Not only is it clueless,” he added, “it is also arguably heartless, to sue to stop school children from getting recess, disabled children from getting funding, poor children from getting out of failure factories and teachers from getting more pay.”

“No, Mr. Speaker. What’s “clueless” and “arguably heartless” is holding things such as teacher pay, help for disabled students and recess for elementary school kids hostage in order to siphon more money from struggling traditional public schools to funnel to less accountable, for-profit charter school operators.

“There are many well-run charters in Palm Beach County; and our district is better for it. But there is no evidence that as a group they perform any better for our tax dollars. In fact, hundreds of charter schools have failed in the state of Florida, and dozens more are academically struggling.”

Why is it that Florida wants to divert funding from public schools to contractor schools? Follow the money.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Florida, For-Profit, Fraud, Privatization

NYC Public School Parent Translates Nicholas Kristof on Bridge International Academies

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2017 //
24

Nicholas Kristof wrote an article defending Bridge International Academies’ for-profit schools in Africa. I disagreed with him here. He responded on Twitter by saying, if you want to judge, go visit a government school. His article asserted that when government doesn’t do its job, private enterprise should step in.

A reader calling him/herself “NYC Public School Parent” distilled Kristof’s arguments and shows why his solution is no solution. Please feel free to send this commentary to Kristof on Twitter:

“Shorter Nicholas Kristof:

“The government has failed to carry out its mission to teach all students. So I am going to promote a private corporation offering to teach the richest students who can afford the fees and ignore how many students drop out and then marvel at the “studies” that show amazing success.

“Shorter Nicholas Kristof:

“I support Trumpcare replacing Obamacare which has failed to make every American healthy. I am truly astonished and in awe of those private insurers who are willing — for a fee– to insure any American who is healthy and I won’t notice that when they are no longer healthy they get sick. Because I get lots of freebies and invited to rich people’s parties for pretending that allowing a private corporation to pick off the cheapest to teach or cheapest to insure people is a marvelous success!

“Shorter Nicholas Kristof:

“When there is government corruption, it is better to allow the private corporations to get rich. That’s why I believe that Trump’s corruption of the federal government should demand a return to private corporations being allowed to run rampant with no regulations.

“According to Kristof’s ridiculous premise, the answer to Trump’s corruption is to allow private enterprise to run rampant. Because actually supporting the democratic regulations that would prevent such corruption is not something the rich people he likes to hang out with believe and he is happy to agree when it comes to education. He cannot even see how much his piece is what Trump himself believes. When the government is corrupt, the best “fix” is allow private corporations to do whatever they want, says Nicholas Kristof and the entire Republican party.”

Categories Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, International

Jan Resseger: The Sordid Story of ECOT and Its Ripoff of Taxpayers in Ohio

By dianeravitch
July 18, 2017 //
10

Jan Resseger writes in The Progressive about the biggest charter scam in Ohio.

When a charter operator gets a lot of money from the state, and selfsame charter operator gives generously to legislators, how can said charter operator ever be held accountable?

In Ohio, the press got fed up with ECOT and started paying attention to charter frauds. Politicians cannot tolerate constant negative press. So, lo and behold, the state conducted an audit of ECOT.

Resseger writes:

“With Betsy DeVos, a long-committed charter school proponent, in charge of the U.S. Department of Education, the country should look to recent goings-on in Ohio as a warning sign of what can happen when public institutions are privatized and an example of why a moratorium on more of these schools is necessary.

“In 2000, Bill Lager founded the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow and the two privately held, for-profit companies that operate the school—IQ Innovations, which provides ECOT’s curriculum, and Altair Learning Management, which manages the school’s operations. According to an old 2003, Ohio Department of Education policy, online charter schools were paid a per-pupil amount from the state for every student enrolled. Until 2015, there was not a requirement that virtual academies demonstrated actual daily participation. Once the Legislature began demanding proof that students were regularly logging on to their computers, Lager and his attorneys have blamed the state for suddenly and unfairly changing the rules. In the 2015-2016 school year, ECOT was paid $106 million in public tax dollars for the more than 15,000 students it said were enrolled, but the state was able to verify the active participation of only 6,300 students.

“The state has demanded that ECOT pay back $60 million the school was over-paid for the 2015-2016 school year, but Lager has used his connections to the state’s biggest lobbyists and key Republican friends in the legislature to pressure lawmakers, even creating attack ads on TV aimed at the Department of Education.

“Thanks to relentless exposure of the scandal by the state’s major newspapers, it appears, finally, that Ohio may claw back some of the tax dollars Lager has stolen. But the state and a lot of local school districts are still owed $60 million for the 2015-2016 school year. And the Columbus Dispatch reports that the Ohio Department of Education has not released results of a new attendance audit for the 2016-2017 school year.

“Lager has been in court all year to block the state from making ECOT repay the money. In mid-June, the Ohio State Board of Education voted almost unanimously to accept the ruling of a hearing officer from the Ohio Department of Education, who is reported by the Columbus Dispatch to have declared that no school’s intent is to “teach to what could be the equivalent of an empty classroom.”

Keep your eyes on ECOT and whether it will be held accountable. Like other states, Ohio desperately needs charter legislation that is not written by lawyers for the charter industry. Ohio courts have ruled that anything purchased by a charter operator with PUBLIC funds belongs to the charter, even if it goes out of business. The law was written that way, by charter lobbyists.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Funding, Ohio, Privatization

Florida Editorial: Will the Fight to Save Public Education Spread?

By dianeravitch
July 18, 2017 //
2

Congratulations to the editorial board Of the the Sun-Sentinel in Broward County, Florida, which published a strong editorial lambasting the Legislature for passing HB 7069.

Several school districts are planning a lawsuit to stop the law from being implemented. The law will do massive harm to the state’s public schools while diverting millions to the charter industry. Several key legislators have financial interests in charter schools. The bill is a travesty.

The editorial board of the Sun-Sentinel wrote:

“Last week the Broward County School Board approved a lawsuit against House Bill 7069. Though legislators crammed more than 50 bills into HB 7069, the Legislature passed it with almost no debate. House leaders, including those with ties to charter schools, crafted HB 7069 in the last days of the session. Despite protests from superintendents and school boards, Gov. Rick Scott signed the legislation.

“A memo from Barbara Myrick, the board’s general counsel, lists five grounds for a case that the law violates the Florida Constitution:

*Legislation must cover one subject. HB 7069 changes 69 state statutes;

*The law restricts school district from carrying out their duty to oversee contracts with charter schools;

*The program that allocates $140 million to so-called “Schools of Hope” sets no standard for how charter schools could spend that money and thus illegally circumvents local school boards;

*The law seeks to create a second, private system of public education;

*Under current law, schools can share public money with charter schools for construction. Under HB 7069, districts would have to share it.

“Supporters of the law, which became House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s priority, stuck the controversial provisions into a must-pass budget bill because most couldn’t have passed on their own. Some of the potential damage already is clear. Depriving school districts of construction money could harm their credit rating.

“Given that prospect, the Broward County School Board acted correctly in approving $25,000 to recruit an outside law firm. Next week, the Palm Beach County School Board will decide whether to file a lawsuit. The Miami-Dade County School Board is scheduled to hold a workshop on the issue this month.

“Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board that HB 7069 would create “a parallel school system that could be privately managed without the requisite accountability. It would be a shadow, private system that runs on public dollars.”

“Example: The new rule that school districts share money for construction. The source of that revenue is a property tax dedicated to capital projects. There’s oversight when school districts spend that money, but nothing in HB 7069 requires charter schools to spend the money on construction and/or maintenance. There’s no oversight.

“Runcie also notes that the district has shared capital projects money when appropriate. One goal of the district’s 2014 general obligation bond was to reduce the ratio of students to computers, which at the time was six to one. It is now two to one.

“The district gave some of the new computers to charter schools but kept track of the equipment. When the district has had to close some of those schools, the district was able to recover the computers, which are public property.

“Now consider the “Schools of Hope” program. Supposedly, the state would use that $140 million to attract charter school operators that would set up near low-performing traditional public schools and give those students a better alternative.

“Nothing in the law, however, requires charter companies to take just students from those schools. Nor is there language to ensure that new operators would produce better results. No school board approval is required. Again, there is no oversight of public money.

“Supporters of HB 7069 wondered why the teachers union joined superintendents and school boards in opposition, since the bill contained a provision for teacher bonuses. Easy. Teachers wanted raises, not more one-time bonuses that add nothing to their pensions. And the state would continue to base bonuses on teachers’ SAT or ACT scores from years ago, not current performance. There could be no changes to the bonus program until 2021.

“Legislative leaders claim to support local control. HB 7069, however, strips control of local tax revenue from school boards and seeks to undermine Florida’s system of free public schools. The law is terrible public policy done in secret. More important, for the purpose of the lawsuit, HB 7069 is illegal.

“The Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade school districts estimate that the property tax provision of HB 7069 could cost them a combined $500 million over 10 years. Add the potential cost of higher borrowing rates and the case for a lawsuit is obvious. With luck, every school board in Florida will fight to overturn HB 7069 and protect public education.”

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Florida, For-Profit, Fraud, Funding, Privatization
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