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Get ready for more potholes, water leaks, and crumbling schools if Congress doesn’t act

In the Public Interest's weekly analysis of privatization (of schools, water, and other public goods) in the news and communities nationwide. Are you subscribed?

June 2020

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California charter schools have taken millions of public dollars meant for small businesses

Here’s our pick of recent news about the effort to privatize public education in California and the families, students, and teachers fighting back. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. As small businesses suffer, charter [...]

June 2020

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A Guide to Understanding and Evaluating the Use of Public-Private Partnerships for Public Buildings

A guide for better understanding and analyzing public building (schools, etc.) public-private partnership (P3) proposals, contracts, and related legislation.

June 2020

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Research Brief: Why online education can’t replace brick-and-mortar K-12 schooling

Research on online education reveals a long track record of poor academic performance, lack of equity and access, and privacy concerns.

May 2020

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Charter schools are taking crisis aid meant for small businesses

Our newsletter for people who think public education should be truly, absolutely, authentically public.

May 2020

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Why the tag team of conservatives and corporations keeps winning

Conservatives have long been clear about what they want. Progressives have focused on specific issues and campaigns and remained silent on the ideas that unite us.

April 2020

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COVID-19 is putting the value of public schools on display

It’s worth taking a moment to think about why it took so long to close the nation’s public schools.

March 2020

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People are fighting water privatization right now from Chile to the Rust Belt

Residents of a small Ohio city are pushing back against the proposed sale of their water and wastewater systems.

November 2019

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Research Brief: As Wall Street Banks Sever Ties, Private Prison Companies Stand to Lose Over $1.9B [...]

This year, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas, and Fifth Third Bancorp publicly announced that they would no longer provide any new financing to the private prison industry. Together [...]

July 2019

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Weekly privatization report: Private prisons at center of shutdown debate | Amazon bucks | and more

Here’s our weekly analysis of privatization in the news and in communities nationwide, in order by state. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. This week’s highlights: Immigration detention, the majority of which is [...]

February 2019

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Weekly privatization report: How running government “like a business” became bipartisan wisdom | and more

Here’s our weekly analysis of privatization in the news and in communities nationwide, in order by state. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. Just want the highlights? LA teachers not only won lower class sizes but also [...]

January 2019

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The Pacheco Law has saved Massachusetts hundreds of millions of dollars

Twenty-five years later and the evidence is in: Massachusetts’s Taxpayer Protection Act, known as the “Pacheco Law,” has saved the state’s residents hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s the conclusion of a new [...]

January 2019

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California School Accountability Report: LA charter leader found guilty

In the Public Interest's pick of recent news about the ongoing effort to privatize public education in California.

January 2019

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California School Accountability Report: The tide is turning on charter schools

Here’s our pick of recent news about the ongoing effort to privatize public education in California. Want these straight to your email inbox? Sign up here. “Your proposed plan would devastate Mountain View’s [...]

December 2018

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Weekly Privatization Report 2-26-2018

More on Trump's infrastructure plan, why charter schools in Puerto Rico is a bad idea, and more.

February 2018

Blog Charter Schools Education Home What We Focus On

Statement on California State Board of Education’s closure of Celerity charter schools

OAKLAND—In the Public Interest Executive Director Donald Cohen issued the following statement on the California State Board of Education’s unanimous decision last week to close two Los Angeles charter schools managed [...]

May 2017

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Guide: Best Practices in Municipal Waste Contracting

Best practices for municipalities aiming to protect their interests when contracting with private companies that provide waste management services.

November 2016

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Report: The Banks That Finance Private Prison Companies November 2016

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Buying Influence: How Private Prison Companies Expand Their Control of America’s Criminal Justice System October 2016

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Report: How privatization increases inequality September 2016

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Fact Sheet: GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America Spend Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Purchasing Smaller Companies September 2016

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Fact Sheet: Private Prison Companies Encourage Mass Incarceration by Owning Facilities July 2016

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Research Brief: How Private Prison Companies Increase Recidivism June 2016

Charter Schools Education Home Publications What We Focus On

Academica’s Florida Real Estate Operations

"Academica's Florida Real Estate Operations" provides analysis of for-profit charter school operator Academica’s role as a landlord to schools in Florida.

June 2016

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Cutting Corners in America’s Criminal Justice System April 2016

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Report: What Government Contractors Really Mean When They Say They’ll Do It Cheaper April 2016

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Private Prison CEOs Continue to Make Much More than the Correctional Officers that Work for Them March 2016

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Building America While Building Our Middle Class March 2016

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How Private Prisons Take Tax Dollars Away from Fixing Our Criminal Justice System February 2016

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Wisconsin Says “No” to Privatized Water

With the lead poisoning tragedy in Flint, Michigan, still playing out in the national headlines, we’ve been due for good news about our nation’s water—and Wisconsin just delivered it. Yesterday, state leaders [...]

February 2016

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Private Companies Profit from Almost Every Function of America’s Criminal Justice System January 2016

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A Guide to Evaluating Pay for Success Programs and Social Impact Bonds December 2015

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Charter School Reform Poll

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October 2015

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Illinois Charter School Reform Poll

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October 2015

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Buying Access: How Corporations Influence Decision Makers at Corrections Conferences, Trainings, and Meetings August 2015

Criminal Justice and Immigration Home

Payoff: How Congress Ensures Private Prison Profit with an Immigrant Detention Quota

This report provides an in-depth assessment of the inception and implementation of the quota, with a specific focus on the role played by for-profit, private prison corporations. [...]

April 2015

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Closing the Books: How Government Contractors Hide Public Records

This brief provides case studies that illustrate how private contractors hide three key types of information: (1) the fees they charge the public, (2) how they spend public funds, and (3) details on the quality of public [...]

March 2015

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Virtual Public Education in California: A Study of Student Performance, Management Practices and Oversight Mechanisms at [...] February 2015

Charter Schools Education Home

Charter School Reform Poll Memo

Click here for full PDF of Poll Memo A new survey shows that Americans overwhelmingly favor a series of proposals to reform charter schools. Proposals garnering broad support include initiatives to strengthen charter school [...]

February 2015

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Standing Guard: How Unaccountable Contracting Fails Governments and Taxpayers December 2014

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Shift: How Taxpayers Began Reclaiming Control of their Public Services June 2014

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Race to the Bottom: How Outsourcing Public Services Rewards Corporations and Punishes the Middle Class June 2014

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Who’s The Boss: Restoring Accountability for Labor Standards in Outsourced Work

Lead companies that outsource distance themselves from the labor-intensive parts of their businesses and their responsibilities for those workers. [...]

May 2014

Charter Schools Education Home

Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

This report echos the warning issued by the OIG and to inform the public and lawmakers of the mounting risk that an inadequately regulated charter industry presents to our communities and taxpayers.

May 2014

Charter Schools Education Home

Do Poor Kids Deserve Lower-Quality Education Than Rich Kids? Evaluating School Privatization [...]

This report evaluates the “blended learning” model of education exemplified by Rocketship and seeks to understand how the “school accountability” legislation debated during the most recent legislative session would [...]

April 2014

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Safeguarding Children in Texas Foster Care: Key Issues in Policy and Practice Recommendations to [...]

This report outlines a number of steps Texas can take to improve child safety in foster care. [...]

April 2014

Criminal Justice and Immigration Home Other Resources Publications Tools and Guides

Backgrounder: The Cost of Private Prisons

The private prison industry claims that governments can save money by privatizing prisons, but what does the evidence actually indicate? This backgrounder summarizes recent research and state reports related to private [...]

April 2014

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Overlooking Oversight: A Lack of Oversight in the Garden State is Placing New Jersey Residents and Assets at Risk

Click here for Full ReportDirect Link Governments and to some extent scholars have long treated contract oversight as a trivial or at best mundane sideline to broader issues of privatization. This is a critical mistake. In [...]

March 2014

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The Decision to Contract Out: Understanding the Full Economic and Social Impacts

While many studies have examined the risks to government in contracting (such as uncertainties about costs or quality) there has been less attention to the broader social and economic effects of contracting.

March 2014

Home Social Services

Social Impact Bonds: Overview and Considerations

This paper provides background information and a framework to help respond to the question of whether a SIB would be a good way to expand funding for a particular intervention or population in a given state or community.

March 2014

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