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Former lobbyist details how conservatives are trying to end public education. Charles Siler was once a lobbyist for two conservative organizations, where his job was to persuade legislators to pass laws that privatize public services, especially K-12 schooling. He spoke with Carol Burris, a former prizewinning principal and executive director of Network for Public Education.
“I grew up truly believing the best way we could help the most people was to get the government out of their lives. But if you take a look at the actual impacts of libertarian policies when they’re implemented, it becomes apparent, they aren’t helping people, and in fact, they make people worse off.” The Washington Post
Teacher says charter schools should get zero federal dollars. “As a former charter school teacher in Los Angeles, I saw federal dollars being wasted on dysfunctional schools that never should have been started in the first place.” LA Progressive
Online charter schools are cashing in. Enrollment in Pennsylvania’s online charter schools is skyrocketing during the pandemic. As Elizabeth Hardison reports, “The rush of students to cyber charter schools has also brought an influx of cash—along with renewed calls from traditional public school advocates for the state to more closely scrutinize the cost of cyber charters, which perennially log some of the lowest academic performance in the state.” Governing
Charter school bill moves forward in Texas. Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) reports that a charter school bill backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) is moving forward. “SB 28 passed the Senate last week, but the fight continues to stop this bad bill in the House. This bill among others would pave the way for rapid charter-school expansion by allowing charters special perks not available to real public schools with elected governance.” Texas AFT
Take action
Retweet journalist Jennifer Berkshire’s spot-on sarcasm about the Chicago Tribune describing a demand from the Chicago Teachers Union to increase vaccine access for public school students and their families as “one big win for the union.” Um, that’s a win for the community and the public at large, i.e., everyone. Twitter
Photo by Maryland GovPics.