Alabama Accountability Act will devastate public schools without improving education (Guest column)
By Dr. Diane Ravitch
The Republicans in the state legislature pulled a fast one on the Democrats. They pretended to negotiate in good faith, but then passed a bill that the Democrats never saw.
The Republicans also pulled a fast one on the citizens of Alabama by passing the so-called "Alabama Accountability Act" that will send taxpayers' dollars to religious schools and for- profit entrepreneurs. Worse, they agreed to take money away from the state's struggling public schools, which will undermine public education for all.
Don't let them fool you. What they did is not conservative. Conservatives don't go around blowing up traditional institutions. Conservatives don't destroy public schools to make some Wall Street investors richer. Conservatives don't create turmoil and dissension in their hometowns.
The supporters of the legislation make grandiose claims about how vouchers and competition will have a dramatic effect on student achievement and save children from "failing schools." But none of it is true. Milwaukee has had vouchers and charters since 1990. When the voucher program started, its champions made the same claims. Twenty-two years later, we know that none of those claims came true. On the