Thanks to reader Lloyd Lofthouse for citing this article.
It shows which academic think tanks get money from the Koch brothers to advocate for privatization of the public sector.
Archives for category: Vouchers
Representative Rick Glazier explains the court decision today that invalidated the General Assembly’s voucher plan. The State Constitution clearly says that public funds are for public schools.
Representative Glazier writes:
The lawyers who put together this case for the plaintiffs, including Burton Craige and his firm, lawyers for the NC Justice Center, Eddie Speas, and former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, among others, did a great job in preparing, briefing and arguing the case before the Superior Court. They made clear what many of us, including a number of House Democrats, had argued on the House floor last year against this bill and provision–that it patently violates the NC Constitution. Public funds for vouchers is, on its face, inconsistent with our constitutional mandate that public money may only be spent on a uniform system of PUBLIC schools. Not only is this [voucher program] public money to fund private schools, but even at that— a nonuniform system of them since the voucher provisions contain no accountability for the funds or schools, no non-discrimination protections, no teacher licensing requirements, no curriculum mandates, no supervision of the use of the funds, no EC requirements and the list goes on. And, no shell game movement of funds by the legislative majority or Governor makes it any less illegal under NC law. Shy of a constitutional amendment approving vouchers, which would never pass in this state, our state constitution forecloses private vouchers funded by public money and the Judge simply recognized what our legislature refuses to understand–no matter your ideology, and policy beliefs, there are some actions the Constitution forbids and using public money to fund private school choices is one of them. Maybe now we can really get back to our job as state legislators and look to truly assist public schools, public school educators, and the students of this state. Vouchers are not reform; they are an abdication of public education. If we want to assist pubic schools, lets start by professionally compensating teachers and educators, repealing the elimination of masters pay, adding time and resources for top notch and targeted professional development, recognizing the role of poverty in educational disadvantages that need time, attention and resources to overcome, restoring a career status system for teachers that rewards good teaching over time. expanding the richness of curriculum in all public schools, ensuring the involvement of the business community in the commitment to and improvement of public schools, and by our words reminding the public daily of the overriding importance of outstanding public schools and public school educators to our state’s economic success. It has been a good day, for a change, in North Carolina! Rick Glazier
Charter schools and voucher schools –unless they are one of the few created specifically for students with disabilities–are noted for excluding them.
A Gulen charter in Minneapolis took over a public school and immediately kicked out 40 autistic students.
In this article, the parents of students with special needs in Wisconsin explain how their children are cheated by voucher schools and lose the rights guaranteed to them by law.
They write:
“Because of the activism of parents before us, our children attend school with their neighborhood peers. Across the country, students with disabilities have the right to a free and appropriate public education, with legally enforceable protections, through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
“Unfortunately, the rights and protections of the IDEA do not apply in private voucher schools such as LifeSkills Academy, and special needs vouchers would not change that. Private voucher schools are not required to have therapists or special educators on staff, and Wisconsin’s existing voucher program has a dismal track record of expelling or “counseling out” students with disabilities.
“The revamped special needs voucher bill puts no limit on the number of vouchers that could be granted statewide, reducing funding available for every school district in the state. While the recent statewide voucher expansion specified that schools must be in existence for at least two years before qualifying to take vouchers, the new special needs voucher bill makes no such provision, leaving the doors wide open for fly-by-night schools to choose Wisconsin solely to take advantage of the vouchers — and of some of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable students.
“The special needs voucher threat to the students of Wisconsin is why we are part of Stop Special Needs Vouchers, a statewide parent-led grass-roots group that advocates in favor of inclusive public education and in opposition to voucher schemes funded and supported in large part by out-of-state interests. We are deeply opposed to this latest attempt to pull public money out of public schools and into private schools where students with disabilities surrender their rights at the door, if indeed the door is not slammed in their faces.
“The private schools are the entities that would be given the real choice. And when private schools get to choose, students with significant disabilities lose. Our public school students stand to lose funding for critical shared resources, at a time when public education funding already has been deeply slashed.”
The North Carolina state constitution clearly says that public funding is for public schools, but the Governor and General Assembly passed voucher legislation so parents can use public funds to send their children to schools run by religious groups.
Now a high-powered law firm backed by the Koch brothers has entered the lawsuit to defend vouchers.
They want more children to learn Biblical science and history and to be well prepare for the jobs of the 17th century.
David Safier is a journalist and friend of public education in Arizona. In this post, he explains how the usual assortment of corporate reformers amd make-believe Democrats have descended on Arizona to push vouchers.
First, they donated handsomely to the campaign of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthaler, who uses his platform to promote the destruction of public education.
Now they are spreading campaign contributions to wispy-washy Democrats, hoping to divert more money away from public schools.
At some point, public education collapses, and Arizona has a pure choice system, with hyper-segregation.
And with it, the end of an essential democratic institution.
Is this what the plutocrats want?
Yes.
A report from “In the Public Interest,” an organization that tracks privatization.
The outlook for the profiteers is not so bright. That is good news. So is the news from Alaska and Maine.
“National: As U.S. revenues of for-profit education companies slump, they look overseas for greener pastures. “Outside the U.S., it’s a wide-open area to run in without as much scrutiny,” says Michael Moe, chief executive officer of GSV Capital Corp. There is speculation that as part of a reshuffle of the Washington Post’s parent company, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway may acquire Kaplan. Kaplan International teachers will be rallying this Thursday at Kaplan’s New York office to demand a fair contract. “A year-and-a-half after voting overwhelmingly for Guild representation, Teachers at Kaplans International Colleges are still fighting for a contract that provides basic benefits for the 90% of the workforce that is part-time. Management refuses to budge. Kaplan ESL instructors, backed by their students, say enough is enough.”
I was also happy to learn from this site that school voucher legislation is stalled in Alaska because two Republican senators are worried about how vouchers will affect public schools. I testified by telephone to the Slaska legislative committee, and I am pleased to see that the committee is thinking through the consequences of this reckless proposal. Many realize it has nothing to do with education.
In Maine, a state legislative committee voted 11-2 to impose a moratorium on virtual charter schools, which is a priority of Governor Paul LePage, a disciple of Jeb Bush. There is interest in a virtual charter controlled by the state, not by external for-profit corporations. Legislators may have been thinking of the 2012 award-winning news story about the political and financial interests–the profit motive–behind the push for virtual charters in Maine.
About once or twice a month, In the Public Interest sends out an email newsletter highlighting major issues and the latest news on privatization and responsible contracting. We keep you informed on new resources and efforts around the country to protect democratic control of public services and assets. *We never ask for donations.*
The North Carolina legislature created a voucher plan, which they call “opportunity scholarships.” Voucher proponents never have the courage to call a voucher what it is; they always use the euphemism “opportunity scholarship” to try to fool the public.
A number of North Carolina organizations challenged the law and the funding, and the judge ruled that the case against the law had merit and could proceed.
“The program, which was adopted as part of the budget bill signed into law by the governor in July, allows income-eligible families to apply for up to $4200 in tuition funds for use at private schools.
“A group of 25 educators and state taxpayers fired the opening salvo in December when they filed suit, contending that the use of taxpayer money for private schools violated provisions of the state constitution requiring that public dollars be used exclusively for a system of free public schools. Four individuals and the North Carolina School Boards Association filed a second suit days later making similar allegations. Since then more than 70 county boards of education have signed on to that lawsuit.
“Today, attorneys for the state as well as for the nonprofit Institute for Justice — a Washington, D.C. – based school choice organization which Hobgood allowed to join the lawsuits today on behalf of applicants to the program – tried to convince the court that the complaints lacked merit and should be dismissed.
“Attorney Lauren Clemmons, arguing for the state, said that the General Assembly met its obligation to spend public funds for public purposes in enacting the program because the public purpose was “education” in the broadest sense of the word, not just public education.”
The North Carolina state constitution clearly, unequivocally says that public funds are to be used exclusively for public schools. Vouchers are used to send children to private schools. That means the legislature’s lawyers have to do some fancy footwork to claim legitimacy for vouchers.
Funny how conservatives think of themselves as “strict constructionists” of the Constitution. Except for vouchers.
This article by Michael Brenner, a professor of international relations at the University of Pittsburgh, is a trenchant summary of the relentless attack on public education launched by the Obama administration and backed by billions of federal and private dollars.
Brenner begins:
“A feature of the Obama presidency has been his campaign against the American public school system, eating way at the foundations of elementary education. That means the erosion of an institution that has been one of the keystones of the Republic. The project to remake it as a mixed public/private hybrid is inspired by a discredited dogma that charter schools perform better. This article of faith serves an alliance of interests — ideological and commercial — for whom the White House has been point man. A President whose tenure in office is best known for indecision, temporizing and vacillation has been relentless since day one in using the powers of his office to advance the cause. Such conviction and sustained dedication is observable in only one other area of public policy: the project to expand the powers and scope of the intelligence agencies that spy on, and monitor the behavior of persons and organizations at home as well as abroad.
“The audacity of the project is matched by the passive deference that it is accorded. There is no organized opposition — in civil society or politics. Only a few outgunned elements fight a rearguard action against a juggernaut that includes Republicans and Democrats, reactionaries and liberals — from Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York to the nativist Christian Right of the Bible Belt. All of this without the national “conversation” otherwise so dear to the hearts of the Obama people, without corroboration of its key premises, without serious review of its consequences, without focused media attention.
“This past week, as the deadline approached for states to make their submissions to Arne Duncan’s Department of Education requesting monies appropriated under the Race to the Top initiative, we were reminded that the DOE has decreed that no proposal will be considered where the state government has put a cap on charter schools. In other words, the federal government has put its thumb heavily on the scales of local deliberations as to what approach toward charter schools best serves their communities’ interests. Penalties are being imposed on those who choose to limit, in any quantitative way, the charter school movement.
“This heavy-handed use of federal leverage by the Obama administration should not come as a surprise. After all, Obama himself has been a consistent, highly vocal advocate of “privatization.” He has travelled the country from coast to coast, like Johnny Appleseed, sowing distrust of public schools and – especially – public school teachers. They have been blamed for what ails America – the young unprepared for the 21st century globalized economy; the shortage of engineers; high drop-out rates; school districts’ financial woes, whatever.*”
Please read the entire article, and you will hear loud echoes of the many voices who have posted here: the demoralized teachers, the frustrated parents, the outraged students. We are the outgunned rearguard. And we will not be silent. Our voices will grow louder and louder as we demand an end to policies that destroy public education and demonize teachers and stigmatize students.
Join us at the first annual conference of the Network for Public Education on March 1-2 in Austin, Texas, where we will strengthen our resolve to stop the juggernaut of privatization.
Margaret Mead said it: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
This just in, following my speech at the Emerging Issues Forum in North Carolina, whose extremist Governor Pat McCrory and General Assembly have passed laws diminishing the status of teachers and promoting vouchers and charters.
“Your speech to the IEI Forum was extraordinary and really sparked immense discussion on the floor of the Forum and later this afternoon. It cogently summarized the dramatic and destructive effect of the Republican policies of this last session, which has led us to 49 th in the nation in teacher pay, 46th in state spending on education, the abrogation of career status for teachers while offering only 25% of teachers a long term contract no matter how many on merit deserve them, elimination of mentor pay and all professional development funds, termination of our nationally recognized Teaching Fellows Program, massive cuts to teacher assistant positions, student support services, administrative capacity, textbooks and supplies; and the creation of a new voucher system and all but unregulated charters, unmoored from their original purpose and accountable supervision, soon to litter every corner of the state. Five years ago our commitment to public education was the envy of most of the nation; today, we are the example of all that is wrong with the term “reform” of public education by those who, in reality, too often seek to abandon it, and a betrayal of our children and their educators in the process. Thank you for your inspiring words and being a part of moving our state’s citizens to reconsider the ideological overreach that has imperiled public education in North Carolina.”
Representative Rick Glazier.
Helen F. Ladd of Duke University and Edward B. Fiske, former education editor of the Néw York Times, lambasted the Governor and Legislature of North Carolina for their calculated program to destroy public education in the state.
Only two years ago, Ladd and Fiske drafted a “vision statement” for the state board of education, describing how public education could better serve the children and the state.
But in the last year, Governor McCrory and the General Assembly have attacked the foundations of public education, underfunded the schools, and attacked the teaching profession.
They write:
“If one were to devise a strategy for destroying public education in North Carolina, it might look like this: Repeat over and over again that schools are failing and that the system needs to be replaced. Then make this a self-fulfilling prophecy by starving schools of funds, undermining teachers and badmouthing their profession, balkanizing the system to make coherent planning impossible, putting public funds in the hands of unaccountable private interests and abandoning any pretense that the goal is to prepare every child in our state to succeed in life.””
“We do not know what motives have driven McCrory and other Republican leaders to enact their education agenda. We do know that their actions look a lot like a systematic effort to destroy a public education system that took more than a century to build and that, once destroyed, could take decades to restore.”
