Scathing Purple Musings
Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
A Fatal Flaw in Florida Voucher Expansion: ESOL Students Are Getting Shortchanged
There are reports coming in that Florida’s voucher advocates are scrambling to counter a stunning expose by well-respected educator Dr. Rosa Castro Feinberg which lays out the many pitfalls that exist for students whose first language is Spanish. Castro Feinberg also makes a compelling case that taxpayer-funded vouchers are in conflict with federal and Florida law. State ESOL law incorporates (fed
Florida Republican Lawmakers Moving Toward “Unequal Treatment” of State Schools
Florida republican lawmakers were scolded this week by the Tampa Bay Times for voting “twice to lessen accountability for private-run charter schools and sidestep calls for more accountability for private schools that accept tuition vouchers.” So much for local control. The Republican-led House on Tuesday approved a bill, HB 7083, that would standardize charter school contracts, eliminating the al
YESTERDAY
Michelle Rhee Slithers Into Florida Voucher Scrap With Another Astroturf Campaign
Michelle Rhee’s corporate-funded tax-exempt 501c4 has parachuted into Florida and is attempting another Astroturf campaign to support the latest republican voucher scheme. Here’s the email from Rhee’s Florida rep: Dear Friend, Over the next week, the Florida legislature has an opportunity to change the lives of thousands of Florida’s neediest students. But it won’t happen without your help. HB 71
Children With Terminal Diseases Have to Take the Test, But Voucher Kids Don’t
From St. Augustine Record reporter Marcia Lane: A Senate subcommittee approved an amendment on Tuesday expanding the voucher program, known as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, adding it to a bill that helps parents of disabled children get additional educational services. Opponents say the plan is going to hurt public schools and the state’s children. Among major complaints is the lack
APR 24
Orlando Sentinel: “Don’t Grow Vouchers Without Accountability”
After referring to themselves as “veteran observers of the political Animal House that is Tallahassee,” the editors of the Orlando Sentinel write: No doubt, Sen. Bill Galvano was in full John “Bluto” Blutarsky mode when he slipped language at the eleventh hour into an education bill for special-needs kids that passed out of its last committee stop this week. The amendment ensured debate over wheth
Gaetz, Senate Republicans Lose Credibility on Accountability in Voucher Deal
Senate president Don Gaetz once acted as if accountability really mattered. After a legislative career built upon the education chops he earned as a former school superintendent who was an accountability hawk, his opinion mattered. Gaetz demonstrated real leadership when he admitted before the 2013 session that Florida’s education accountability system was “in danger of imploding. ” Folks believed
APR 23
Florida Voucher Proponents Gave Up Everything to Keep From Being Held Accountability
The Senate version of voucher expansion serves as a stunning rebuke of SFO agent, Step Up for Students, and one which will keep it from expanding and further enriching its executives. Lynn Hatter explains in WFSU‘s website: Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) says his plan will add more accountability to the groups that administer the program, called scholarship funding organizations or SFO’s. There
Galvano’s Back Channel Amendment Allows Florida Voucher Schools to Dodge Accountability
The only thing that’s missing from Florida’s voucher mouthpieces and the politicians doing their bidding is a Russian accent voiceover: “Our bouchers kidz take deeffarent tests. Tests just azz good. Same ding.” And they may just get away with it, too, as a key Democrat, Sen. Bill Montford appears to have signed off on the deal. From the last reliable journalist at Step Up for Students blog, Travis
APR 22
Epic Pearson Failure in Florida During State-Wide Testing, Blames Someone Else
From the Associated Press: TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Testing was suspended Tuesday in several districts across Florida after students were unable to take the state’s standardized assessment because of a computer glitch. In a letter to the testing contractor, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said the glitch had created “significant problems” for students taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment T
CAIR Arrives on the Scene to Debate Florida Education Policy
In 2007, federal prosecutors named the Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR) an unindicted co-conspirator in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas. Undeterred and unfiltered largely due to western cultures political correctness, CAIR has become the go-to mouthpiece ready to cry “Islamaphobia” at the drop of a hat. My, how far they have come. Now
APR 21
Dispatching the Al Lawson-Step Up For Students Smear of Paula Dockery
Former Florida senator turned education privatization super-lobbyist Al Lawson took his turn at mischaracterizing opponents of the Florida voucher expansion scheme that would enrich the executives who run it. To do so, he needed to misrepresent the words of a former senate colleague. Wrote Lawson of Paula Dockery’s recent opinion piece. My former Senate colleague in this fight, Republican Paula Do
The Seperartion of Republican Governors From Jeb Bush on Commom Core: A Conservative Awakening
From the New York Times: Its most outspoken Republican defender, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, is also the most talked-about potential presidential candidate among mainstream party leaders and donors. Mr. Bush has called out some Republicans who have switched positions, drawing what will be a dividing line in the campaign if he or other defenders of the Common Core choose to run. He is joined
APR 20
Academica Charter Schools Under Federal Investigation
From Mary McGrory in the Miami Herald: TALLAHASSEE — The state’s largest charter school management company has come under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education for potential conflicts of interests in its business practices, federal authorities have confirmed. The Education Department’s Inspector General Office is auditing the South Miami-based Academica Corp. as part of a broader examina
APR 19
Florida Republican Hypocricy Unmasked in Voucher Expansion
Writing in the Gainesville Sun, Alachua County School Board member Eileen Roy points to the numerous contradictions that school vouchers and their legislative enablers cannot resolve: These schools have little to no accountability and are not required to have certified teachers. As a taxpayer, I do not want my money diverted away from public schools. If parents want their children to attend a pri