My December 2013 Michigan Board of Education Testimony
In November 2013, I was asked if I would testify at the December 17, 2013, Michigan State Board of Education meeting. Michigan is considering emulating the New Orleans so-called model Recovery School District (RSD) (including the supposed “parental choice” afforded by open enrollment) as well as using letter grades for schools. Since I could not be in Michigan on December 17, I provided the follo
The 2013 Legislative Audit of Louisiana Voucher Schools
On December 11, 2013, Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA) Daryl Purpera released the 2013 Performance Audit of Louisiana’s voucher program.
The purpose of this audit is to inform legislators of the state of the Louisiana voucher program as the legislators consider the actions they might take regarding the voucher program in the upcoming legislative session.
I sure hope the legislators take Purpera’s report to heart.
In this post, I will touch on a number of critical issues related to the circus that is the Louisiana Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program (i.e., the voucher program).
If Louisiana State Superintendent John White “regulated” traditional public schools with as much “rigor” as he does the voucher program, no traditional public school would fear closure; no traditional public school teacher would be concerned about being graded using student test scores, and no traditional public school student would experience high-stakes, standardized test anxiety.
John White has been hired to ensure the unregulated privatizing of public education. It is his unwritten job description. Just watch him in action.
As to the audit: Let me begin with the fact that just over half (51%, or 2,556 students) in the voucher program are very young (grades K-2). The report does not include