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Bruce Baker: How Arne Duncan and John King Killed Rigorous Research into School Finance

By dianeravitch
October 9, 2017 //
24

Bruce Baker at Rutgers University is one of the most eminent scholars of school finance in the nation.

In this post, he remembers the days when states insisted upon rigorous research to understand funding equity and inequity.

That kind of research, on which he cut his teeth, died, and he knows why.

“These were the very types of analyses needed to inform state school finance polices and to advance the art and science of evaluating educational reforms for their potential to improve equity, productivity and efficiency. But these efforts largely disappeared over the next decade. More disconcerting, these efforts were replaced by far less rigorous, often purely speculative policy papers, free of any substantive empirical analysis and devoid of any conceptual frameworks.

“This shift was largely brought about under the leadership of Arne Duncan. Kevin Welner of the University of Colorado and I explained first in a report for the National Education Policy Center and subsequently in shorter form in the journal Educational Researcher, that Secretary Duncan had begun to give lip service to improving educational productivity and efficiency, but accompanied that lip service with wholly insufficient resources. Kevin Welner and I explained that:

“the materials provided on the Department’s website as guiding resources present poorly supported policy advisement. The materials listed and recommendations expressed within those materials repeatedly fail to provide substantive analyses of the cost effectiveness or efficiency of public schools, of practices within public schools, of broader policies pertaining to public schools, or of resource allocation strategies.” [ix]

“Among other issues, the materials provided on the web site failed to acknowledge even the existence of the relevant conceptual frameworks and rigorous empirical methods which had risen to prominence in state supported and federally documented research in the years prior.”

John King, then the state commissioner in New York, quickly followed Duncan’s lead. The top researchers sat in the audience while Duncan’s favorites presented misleading graphs.

Thus did the field die.

Categories Funding, Research

National Education Policy Center Releases New Study of Wisconsin Vouchers

By dianeravitch
October 5, 2017 //
8

Professor Ellie Bruecker of the University of Wisconsin at Madison completed a study of the fiscal impact of the statewide school vouchers in Wisconsin. It was published by the National Education Policy Center.

Here is the executive summary:

“Executive Summary

“In 1989, Wisconsin created the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), the nation’s first publicly funded private school voucher program. Over the next two decades, the Milwaukee program was steadily expanded, but remained the sole voucher program in the state. In 2011, Wisconsin added a voucher program in Racine (RPCP), and in 2013 it created the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP). Initially the statewide program was limited to 500 students and 25 schools in its first year and 1,000 students and 50 schools in its second. In 2015, the state legislature lifted the cap on participating schools and students, but limited student participation to a percentage of district enrollment—currently 2% for the 2017-18 school year. The cap will gradually increase by 1% each year until it is eliminated in 2026. Wisconsin Act 55 (2015) additionally amended the funding of the WPCP.

“Previously funding had been provided by a state general purpose revenue allocation; Act 55 generates voucher funding for incoming students by deducting the cost of a student’s voucher from the state aid allocated to the school district in which a student resides.

“As a result, the program now shifts millions of dollars from public school districts to private schools. The fiscal impact of the statewide voucher program, however, is not evenly distributed across Wisconsin’s public schools.

“This policy memo describes how the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program alters the relative share of public education spending borne by the state and by local districts and estimates the differential fiscal impact of the program on Wisconsin school districts. The analysis finds that school districts could lose a substantial portion of their state aid as participation in the voucher program grows, and that small districts would be the most negatively affected.

“Currently, participation rates in the statewide program are low and students in some districts lack access to voucher schools. Nevertheless, this analysis finds that the majority of students currently eligible to participate in the program live within range of a voucher school and that, even given low participation rates, the program will have a significant effect on the fiscal support the state provides to local school districts. As more states enact or expand their voucher programs, the case of Wisconsin demonstrates that one-size-fits-all statewide programs have the potential to exacerbate funding disparities in the public system.”

You can read the report here .

Categories Education Reform, Funding, Vouchers, Wisconsin

Where Betsy DeVos Is Spreading Federal Funds for Charter Schools

By dianeravitch
October 3, 2017 //
31

Thanks to Leonie Haimson for assembling this information about the US ED plans to spread charter money.

US ED announces more funding for charter schools nationwide, including 5 NYC charters, & yet another $3.2M for Success which has received many millions already from the feds as well as from private sources.

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-awards-253-million-grants-expand-charter-schools

more info here: https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/charter-schools-program-grants-for-replications-and-expansion-of-high-quality-charter-schools/

and https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/

Charter apps and reviewer comments here: https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/charter-schools-program-grants-for-replications-and-expansion-of-high-quality-charter-schools/awards/

U.S. Department of Education Awards $253 Million in Grants to Expand Charter Schools

September 28, 2017

Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that The Expanding Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Program (Charter Schools Program or CSP) has awarded new grants this week to fund the creation and expansion of public charter schools across the nation, totaling approximately $253 million.

“These grants will help supplement state-based efforts to give students access to more options for their education,” said Secretary DeVos. “What started as a handful of schools in Minnesota has blossomed into nearly 7,000 charter schools across the country. Charter schools are now part of the fabric of American education, and I look forward to seeing how we can continue to work with states to help ensure more students can learn in an environment that works for them.”

The following grants slates were awarded:

The State Entities program awarded approximately $144.7 million in new grants to nine states.

The Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools program awarded approximately $52.4 million in new grants to 17 non-profit charter management organizations.

The Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities program awarded approximately $56.25 million in new grants to six non-profit organizations and two state agencies.

These grants are awarded to state educational agencies and other state entities, charter management organizations (CMOs) and other non-profit organizations and represent the first cohort of new awards under the program’s new authorizing statute, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Please see below for the list of grantees, first year grant amounts and total recommended funding (contingent on future Congressional appropriations).

State Entity Grantees:

Grantee Name FY 17 Funding (Year 1 and 2 Funding) Total Recommended Funding

Indiana Department of Education $24,002,291 $59,966,575

Maryland State Department of Education $5,490,859 $17,222,222

Minnesota Department of Education $22,381,611 $45,757,406

Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board* $4,240,819 $15,000,000

New Mexico Public Education Department $6,358,693 $22,507,805

Oklahoma Public School Resource Center, Inc.* $4,264,870 $16,499,722

Rhode Island Department of Education $1,953,000 $6,000,000

Texas Education Agency $38,034,535 $59,164,996

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction $37,954,114 $95,777,775

Total $144,680,792 $331,896,501

* Eligible applicants under this program are state entities. A state entity is defined under ESSA as a state educational agency; a state charter school board; a Governor of a state; or a charter school support organization.

CMO Grantees:

Grantee Name State** FY17 Funding Total Recommended Funding

Ascend Learning, Inc. NY $3,661,357 $9,484,885

Brooke Charter Schools MA $353,747 $836,136

Eagle Academy Public Charter School DC $449,066 $812,885

East Harlem Tutorial Program NY $542,640 $2,781,280

Environmental Charter Schools CA $566,063 $900,000

Family Life Academy Charter Schools, Inc. NY $739,260 $900,000

Fortune School of Education CA $1,350,600 $2,043,100

Freedom Preparatory Academy, Inc. TN $1,451,301 $4,297,000

Great Oaks Foundation, Inc. NY $1,958,400 $3,834,000

Hiawatha Academies MN $1,121,400 $1,875,000

IDEA Public Schools TX $26,316,168 $67,243,986

New Paradigm for Education, Inc MI $2,365,400 $5,084,100

Rocketship Education CA $5,090,134 $12,582,678

Success Academy Charter Schools, Inc. NY $3,225,240 $6,130,200
The Freedom and Democracy Schools Foundation, Inc. MD $603,003 $1,533,528
University Prep Inc. CO $1,360,730 $3,734,750

Voices College-Bound Language Academies CA $1,258,415 $2,699,999

Total:

$52,412,924 $126,773,527

**State reflects where the organization is based; school expansion sites funded under this grant may differ.

Credit Enhancement Grantees:

Grantee Name State** FY17 and Total Project Funding

Building Hope…A Charter Schools Facilities Fund DC $8,000,000
California School Finance Authority CA $8,000,000

Center for Community Self-Help NC $8,000,000

Charter Schools Development Corporation MD $5,000,000

Hope Enterprise Corporation MS $8,000,000

Low Income Investment Fund CA $8,000,000

Massachusetts Development Finance Agency MA $8,000,000

Raza Development Fund AZ $3,250,000

Total

$56,250,000
**State reflects where the organization is based; school expansion sites funded under this grant may differ.

Additional information regarding these grant programs and awards, including copies of grantee applications, may be found at: https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/

I hope we won’t hear from any of the “progressives” who agree with DeVos about charters. She knows exactly what she is doing. Funding schools to compete with and undermine community public schools.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Funding, Privatization, U.S. Department of Education

Good News! Kansas Supreme Court Rules That Legislators Are Not Funding Schools Equitably

By dianeravitch
October 3, 2017 //
10

Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas nearly bankrupted the State with his theory that cutting taxes would cause a huge economic boom. Taxes were cut but there was no boom. Meanwhile, the schools of Kansas were underfunded.

The state Supreme Court ordered the legislature to fix school funding. The legislature tinkered. Back and forth. Yesterday the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the legislature again to meet their constitutional obligation to fund the schools.

“The ruling also ordered a fairer distribution of state funding, to ensure that students in poor districts have the same educational opportunities as their peers in wealthier communities.

“The majority of justices supported giving the Legislature until June, but no more time than that, for a final fix on state funding of schools.

“That will give lawmakers, who will reconvene in January, a full regular session to try to come up with a school-finance law that meets court requirements, negating the need for a special session.

“The court is ordering that a new funding law be crafted before April 30 so there’s time for the justices to review it before the annual budget and the schools’ money runs out.

“Once legislation is enacted, the State will have to satisfactorily demonstrate to this court by June 30, 2018, that its proposed remedy brings the state’s education financing system into compliance with Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution regarding the violations identified, i.e., both adequacy and equity,” the court ruling said.

“After that date we will not allow ourselves to be placed in the position of being complicit actors in the continuing deprivation of a constitutionally adequate and equitable education owed to hundreds of thousands of Kansas school children.”

“Three of the seven justices – Lee Johnson, Eric Rosen and Dan Biles – wrote or joined in dissents saying they want the Legislature to have to move faster.

“I would direct the State to tell us no later than the end of this year precisely how the legislature intends to fix its years-long breach of the Kansas Constitution,” Johnson wrote.

“The case, called Gannon v. Kansas, has been going on since November of 2010.

“On Monday, the court specifically held that a school-finance law the Legislature passed earlier this year is unconstitutional.”

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/local/education/article176605486.html#storylink=cpy

Categories Accountability, Equity, Funding, Justice, Kansas

Congress Let Health Insurance for 9 Million Children Expire

By dianeravitch
October 2, 2017 //
11

Congress was busy trying to repeal Obamacare so they forgot about the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which protects nine million children. They let it expire. You read that right.

“The program, created under a 1997 law passed with bipartisan support during the administration of President Bill Clinton, provided coverage for children in families with low and moderate incomes as well as to pregnant women. It was instrumental in lowering the percentage of children who were uninsured from nearly 14 percent when it started to 4.5 percent in 2015. It was last reauthorized in 2015 and was due to be renewed by Sept. 30, 2017.

“Amid unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the Republican-led Congress allowed the CHIP deadline to pass without action.

“The program was primarily funded by the federal government, with states paying a good deal less. States still have some CHIP money available, but if Congress does not act quickly to restore the program, they will start to run out. Several states and the District of Columbia are expected to drain CHIP funding by the end of this year and many more by March 2018…

“The program cost the federal government about $13.6 billion in 2016. The program provided services that included, according to the government’s website:

“Routine checkups
Immunizations
Doctor visits
Prescriptions
Dental and vision care
Inpatient and outpatient hospital care
Laboratory and X-ray services
Emergency services”

How can we allow nine million children to go without medical insurance for basic needs?

What kind of a country are we?

Categories Funding

Good News! Pennsylvania Supreme Court Gives OK to Trial about School Funding!

By dianeravitch
September 28, 2017 //
8

Pennsylvania has one of the worst, most inequitable school funding arrangements in the nation. The legislature has fiddled and done nothing, allowing wide disparities to remain.

But today the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in favor of permitting a trial on funding inequities. This is a big win for districts who are desperately underfunded.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday opened the door to a lawsuit by the William Penn School District and others asking courts to remedy wide funding disparities among school districts, breaking with decades of precedent dismissing such challenges.

Courts “must take great care in wading deeply into questions of social and economic policy, which we long have recognized as fitting poorly with the judiciary’s institutional competencies,” Justice David Wecht wrote in the majority opinion.

But “it is fair neither to the people of the Commonwealth nor to the General Assembly itself to expect that body to police its own fulfillment of its constitutional mandate.”

The court’s opinion — joined by four justices and accompanied by two dissenting opinions — does not resolve the William Penn lawsuit.

But it enables a trial court to hear arguments in the case, which contends that Pennsylvania’s school-funding system violates the state constitution’s guarantee of a “thorough and efficient system” of education, and its equal-protection provision. Commonwealth Court had dismissed the suit, which lawyers for the plaintiffs said Thursday they would now seek to expedite.

Pennsylvania’s school-funding system has long been a subject of complaint, with some of the widest spending gaps in the country between low- and high-poverty districts and heavy reliance on property taxes to fund schools.

In the William Penn School District — which has some of the highest tax rates in the state, but spends less per pupil than nearby Lower Merion — “we are moving ahead,” a jubilant Jane Harbert, superintendent of the district, said Thursday. “I have to tell you, it just bring tears to my eyes that we’re allowed to go further with this. We’re fighting a battle not just for William Penn but for the whole state of Pennsylvania.”

The first person she called with the news, Harbert said, was former superintendent Joseph Bruni, who spearheaded the suit. In an interview, he said he had waited a long time for this.

Categories Education Reform, Equity, Funding, Pennsylvania

Arthur Camins: Want Innovation? Try Equitable, Integrated Public Schools!

By dianeravitch
September 26, 2017 //
22

Arthur Camins recently retired after a distinguished career in science, engineering, and the study of innovation.

He has an inspired idea for innovation in education: try equitable, integrated public schools.

He writes:

Secretary of Education Betsy Devos says that students in the US attend schools that are a “mundane malaise that dampens dreams, dims horizons and denies futures.” She accuses public schools of being stuck in the past. She claims to want innovation.

Miriam-Webster defines innovation as follows;

1: the introduction of something new

2: a new idea, method, or device: novelty

DeVos and her allies want to give public funds to parents to send their children to any public, charter or private schools, whether or not they are religious and whether or not they discriminate by race, religion or sexual orientation.

If enacted, her policies would mean returning to a time when schools were more segregated by race, religion, and class. That is not new or novel. In fact, it is stuck in the past. Segregation is not innovative. It is old school.

DeVos believes that individual parents are in the best position to choose a school that is best for their child, rather than democratically elected representatives. That unlimited choice would return us to a time when individual parents’ inclinations and, yes, their prejudices were prioritized over the needs of the communities in which they live and over the needs of the nation.

For several decades after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision in 1954 public schools in the US became more integrated. However, that trend has reversed. Public schools are becoming more segregated, not just by race but by socioeconomic status as well. In other words, it is becoming more likely that student will attend schools with children who are more similar to one another than not. That trend may satisfy the narrow interests and proclivities of some, but it is destructive to the nation.

Segregated schools are destructive to the nation not just because the inherent inequality of separate education shortchanges particular categories of individual students, but because it deprives all students of the benefit of learning to live across differences in our unalterably diverse country. Integrated schools are not only a moral and democratic imperative but an economic one too. Research indicates that diverse groups are more productive and creative and make better decisions. Learning to participate in diverse groups should start in school not on the job….

The idea of mediating racial and socioeconomic school segregation is not new. But, doing something substantive about it would be innovative.

Here are several policies that promote the old, but still vital idea and value of diversity and equity. Isolated boutique enactments are not innovative. Widespread systemic implementation would be.

Stop funding local public schools primarily through property taxes. Since communities have significantly varied tax bases, this is inherently inequitable. Instead, shift school funding to graduated state and personal federal income, capital gains, and corporate taxes.

Incentivize more integrated neighborhoods through changes in lending and zoning practices. It was, in fact, federal policies that help to limit integrated and promote segregated neighborhoods. It is time to reverse that deplorable history.

Since addressing inequity is necessarily a long-term effort, prioritize funding to schools with the greatest percentages of children from low-incomes and traditionally underrepresented groups.

Increase federal funding, so that rather than taking from well endowed, middle-class schools, funding for the rest can be increased.

Increase federal funding for special education, so that meeting the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not come at the expense of other children.
Provide nutritional, social, health, and economic support to children and their families, so that all children can engage fully in learning.

Invest in infrastructure and research jobs with decent wages so that adults are employed and provide stability at home.

Promote positive social and emotional learning practices in all schools so that all students are known, valued and respected.

Fund professional learning and formative assessment practices so that teachers continue to learn how to best engage and address the learning needs of all students.

None of these ideas are new. However, as a nation, we have only tinkered at designing solutions. We are a nation of interdependent communities and states. Systemic efforts to address inequity have always been limited not by what is possible, but by the political constraints driven by economic elites. The self-proclaimed realists among the empowered condescendingly claim, “We cannot afford all that.” What they really mean is, “I don’t want to pay for it.”

It’s time to give priority to the needs of the majority of Americans. More integrated, well-funded schools would benefit everyone. That would be innovative.

Categories Equity, Funding, Innovation, School Choice, Segregation , Racial Isolation and Integration

D.C. Charter Operators Agree to Repay $600,000 for Missing $3 Million

By dianeravitch
September 24, 2017 //
8

This looks like a good deal for the leaders of a charter school who were accused of misappropriating
Ropristing $3 million for their personal use. No jail time. A payback of $600,000 and pocket change. And an agreement not to lead any other charters until 2020. The fines apparently will be paid by insurance companies, not the defendants.

“The former leaders of a public charter school for disabled and at-risk teenagers have agreed to settle a District lawsuit alleging they sought to enrich themselves by diverting millions of dollars in taxpayer money meant for the school into private companies they created.

“Donna Montgomery, David Cranford and Paul Dalton, all former managers at Options Public Charter School, agreed to a collective settlement of $575,000, which will be paid to the school that now operates under new leadership as Kingsman Academy. Jeremy Williams, a former chief financial officer of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, who allegedly aided the scheme, agreed to a settlement of $84,237 in a separate deal signed last week. The defendants agreed that they would not serve in a leadership role of any nonprofit corporation in the District until October 2020.

“This settlement ensures that more than $600,000 in misappropriated funds will now go to Kingsman Academy to serve disabled students in the District of Columbia, and will deter future wrongdoing,” said Robert Marus, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General. “As the referees for the District’s nonprofit laws, our office will continue to bring actions against any who would misuse funds meant for public or charitable purposes.”

“A statement issued by attorney S.F. Pierson, who represents Dalton, said all three former managers “continue to contest the District’s claims and continue to maintain their position that they managed Options to the highest standards.” Pierson said the former school leaders are “not personally paying” anything to settle the District’s claims. It’s common that insurance plans cover litigation-related costs for nonprofit directors or corporate officers.”

This is a big win for the accused, but a loss for the disabled students, who didn’t get the services intended for them.

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

The Gulen Charter Schools: An Exhaustive Exposé

By dianeravitch
September 23, 2017 //
27

Lawyer Robert Amsterdam was hired by the Republic of Turkey to investigate the Gulen charter school movement in the United States.

The Turkish government is headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is engaged in political struggle with Fethullah Gulen. Gulen is a cleric who lives in seclusion in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The Turkish government is Islamic, and Gulen is an Islamic cleric. I can’t say that I understand the political issues, but I do know that Erdogan is not a democratic leader, and there are no heroes here. After a recent failed coup attempt, Erdogan blamed Gulen and proceeded to repress civil liberties and jail thousands of suspected Gulenists.

Fethullah Gulen remains safely ensconced in his mountain retreat. He controls one of the biggest charter chains in the United States. It was surpassed in numbers recently by KIPP as the largest corporate charter chain.

American film maker Mark Hall recently produced a film about the Gulen schools. It is called “Killing Ed.” He tried to interview Gulen but was not admitted to the compound. He interviewed former Gulen teachers and they told him about kickbacks and other dubious practices that would not be tolerated in public schools.

The New York Times has reported on the Gulen practice of handing out big contracts to Turkish contractors, without choosing the low bidder. Similar practices triggered a state audit in Georgia. The FBI raided Gulen schools in the Midwest as part of an investigation of white-collar crime.

A couple of years ago, I was interviewed by Mr. Amsterdam. He told me he had uncovered gross violations of law and ethics by the Gulen schools. I told him that what bothers me about the Gulen schools is the idea that American public schools are controlled by foreign nationals. One of the central purposes of the American public school is to teach children their rights and responsibilities as citizens. How can that be outsourced to foreign nationals? As a thought experiment, I asked, how would Americans feel about their public schools being taken over by nationals of Russia? Chile? Cambodia? Are Americans so hapless and incompetent that we can’t manage our own public schools and staff them with American teachers? It is perfectly reasonable to hire foreign teachers, especially to teach their own language, but why should an American “public school” be turned over lock, stock, and barrel to a Turkish organization? It is not as if Turkey is one of the best performing nations in the world. It is not.

Amsterdam listened patiently but said his primary concern was massive corruption.

He has just published a very large book called “Empire of Deceit,” documenting the massive misuse of public funds for Gulen schools, the misuse of the H-1B visa program to import Turkish teachers, the practice of tithing to the Gulen organization, and the way that Gulen schools steer contracts to Turkish contractors. He has documented practices that would never be tolerated in public schools.

You can go to his website and find a list of all the Gulen schools in every state.

You can also download the book for free.

All of this is troublesome, but for me the most troublesome aspect is the idea of outsourcing public schools to foreign nationals, no matter which nation they represent. Public schools belong to the public, and they should not be outsourced or given to private corporations.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Citizenship, Education Industry, Education Reform, Funding, Gulen Charter Schools, Privatization

Los Angeles County Investigates Enrollment of Catholic School Students in Online Academy

By dianeravitch
September 20, 2017 //
21

This is a new kind of charter school scandal. A virtual school enrolled students already enrolled in Catholic schools and claimed full state tuition. The virtual school gave the Catholic school cash and laptops. Meanwhile, the parents paid tuition to the Catholic school. In effect, the students attended two schools.

Bizarre new world of profit-taking.

http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-lennox-virtual-academy-20170920-story.html

Categories Accountability, Catholic Schools, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Funding, Los Angeles, Privatization, Technology, Virtual Charter Schools
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