Saturday, August 27, 2016

StudentsMatter Is Millions in Debt from Vergara Lawsuit, Yet It Keeps on Suing | deutsch29

StudentsMatter Is Millions in Debt from Vergara Lawsuit, Yet It Keeps on Suing | deutsch29:

StudentsMatter Is Millions in Debt from Vergara Lawsuit, Yet It Keeps on Suing


 On August 22, 2016, the California Supreme Court denied reviewing the appellate court decision in Vergara et al. vs. State of California et al. The appellate court decided in April 2016 that Vergara did not prove constitutional violation of equal protection. Vergara was originally filed in 2012; four years later, it had reached its litigious end.

The following day, on August 23, 2016, the same group responsible for astroturfing education litigation like Vergara, StudentsMatter.org, filed a fresh, corporate-reform-promoting lawsuit in Connecticut, Martinez vs. Malloy. In short, the goal of Martinez is not to improve Connecticut’s “failing” public schools; it is to promote a dual school system in which those who choose to “escape the failing schools” are provided with magnet and charter schools to which to flee.
StudentsMatter is a corporate reform lawsuit factory, and the organization is okay with that. From its home page:
Our Mission
Students Matter promotes access to quality public education through impact litigation, communications and advocacy.
StudentsMatter has an advisory board, and interestingly, at the top of the board bio web page, StudentsMatter offers this disclaimer:
Note: The individuals below are representing themselves on Students Matter’s advisory board and not representing the organization for which they work.
The corporate reform litigation factory does not want to be held responsible for its own board. That’s funny.
  • former StudentsMatter policy director and former Parent Revolution exec directorBen Austin;
  • former Chief of School Family and Parent/Community Services for Los Angeles Unified School District Maria Casillas;
  • former LAUSD superintendent John Deasy;
  • former California state senator Becky Morgan;
  • former chief of staff to VP Joe Biden and former chief domestic policy advisor to former Pres Bill Clinton, Bruce Reed;
  • investment banker and venture capitalist Arthur Rock, and
  • former chairman of the National Venture Capital Association and founding CEO of Fortify, a pioneer in the software security market, Ted Schlein.
StudentsMatter lists a single staffer, David Stanley:
David Stanley leads major gifts fundraising at Students Matter. He enlists philanthropists to serve as key partners to Students Matter and helps sustain 
StudentsMatter Is Millions in Debt from Vergara Lawsuit, Yet It Keeps on Suing | deutsch29:

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