New Reports Reveal The Big Charter School ‘Accountability’ Lie
In one of the testier moments in what was the testiest ever confirmation hearing for US secretary of education, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia questioned if nominee billionaire Betsy DeVos would demand the same kind of accountability from the full range of education institutions she wants included in her program for unleashed “school choice” – public schools, charters, and private schools receiving taxpayer money through vouchers.
The exchange went like this:
Kaine: “If confirmed will you insist upon equal accountability in any K-12 school or educational program that receives taxpayer funding whether public, public charter, or private?”DeVos: “I support accountability.”Kaine: “Equal accountability?”DeVos: “I support accountability.”Kaine: “Is that a yes or a no?”DeVos: “I support accountability.”Kaine: “Do you not want to answer my question?”DeVos: “I support accountability.”
That DeVos responded to a legitimate – even essential – question with a stubborn, insipid talking point is illustrative of not only her inability to provide an intelligent, straightforward answer to most questions about education policy, but also indicative of the empty rhetoric the well-financed charter school industry uses to respond to any appropriate questioning of the rationale for expanding these schools.
There’s ample evidence – based on both DeVos’ personal efforts to unleash unregulated charter schools in her own state, Michigan, and on evidence from other states that have similar unregulated charter school environments – that much of the vaunted “accountability” of charter schools is an empty promise at best, and at worse, a curtain to hide all sorts of malfeasance and corruption.
Sunshine State Scandal
As a new report from the Center for Popular Democracy documents, “lack New Reports Reveal The Big Charter School ‘Accountability’ Lie: