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Saturday, June 17, 2017

Coffee with Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Coffee with Diane Ravitch's blog
 A site to discuss better education for all







DeVos Will Scale Back Civil Rights Enforcement
by dianeravitch / 1h

Betsy DeVos will scale back civil rights enforcement by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights because they take too much time. “The Department of Education is scaling back investigations into civil rights 

Newtown Mother: “My Daughter Died at Sandy Hook School Elementary School Massacre”
by dianeravitch / 1min

A year or two after the horrific massacre of children, teachers, and the principal of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, I began getting comments on the blog asserting that there was no massacre. I blocked those 

Thank You, Massachusetts Teachers Association, for Standing Up to Profiteers!
by dianeravitch / 1h

The Massachusetts Teachers Association rejected the for-profit promotion of Depersonalized Learning! MTA delegates also adopted a resolution calling for full funding of public schools. Massachusetts is the highest performing state in 

Indianapolis: What the Public Schools Learned from the Charter Schools

by dianeravitch / 7min
Indiana has been taken over by the forces of corporate school reform, under a succession of Republican governors devoted to school choice: Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, now Eric Holcomb. The public schools got a brief respite when 


Jan Resseger: PBS Documentary “School Inc.” Is Libertarian Propaganda

by dianeravitch / 14min
Jan Resseger, the great social justice advocate based in Ohio, reviewed the origins of Andrew Coulson’s “School Inc.” now airing on PBS. Resseger points out that the film was produced by “Free to Choose Media,” a libertarian group known for its production of Milton Friedman’s 10-part series based on his book of the same name. “On his blog The Grade, on the website of the Phi Delta Kappan, Alexand
California: Two Scandal-Ridden Charters Closed, Then Reopen with New Names

by dianeravitch / 1h
The Los Angeles Unified School District closed down two charter schools that are part of the Celerity charter chain, because of financial abuses and mismanagement. The charters appealed to the charter-friendly State Board of Education, which rejected their appeal. With amazing speed, the two charters changed their names and will reopen in the same buildings with the same principals and most of th
Buzzfeed: DeVos Plans to Cancel Regulations that Protect College Students from Predatory For-Profit “Colleges”

by dianeravitch / 2h
Betsy DeVos plans to withdraw federal regulations adopted during the Obama administration to protect college students from predatory for-profit colleges. “The Trump administration moved today to roll back two regulations designed to protect students against predatory for-profit colleges. “In federal filings, the Education Department said it would renegotiate the federal “gainful employment” rule,
North Carolina: Legislature Bars Rev. Barber from Entering Its Building

by dianeravitch / 2h
Reverend William Barber, the nation’s most eminent civil rights leader at this time, has been barred from entering the Legislative building in North Carolina. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article156649019.html Reverend Barber, the president of the state NAACP, has led the Moral Monday’s protests at the Capitol, where thousands of protestors meet in front of

YESTERDAY

New York: Contact Your State Senator to Stop School Privatization

by dianeravitch / 20h
The State Senate in New York loves charters. They produce generous contributions from financiers and Wall Street. The State Senate is now holding hostage a deal to renew mayoral control unless Mayor De Blasio agrees to accept more charter schools. Don’t let them get away with it! More money for contractor schools that can choose their students and impose draconian discipline on children of color.
DeVos Invites Anti-LGBT Groups to Join Father’s Day Event in D.C.

by dianeravitch / 22h
The DeVos family foundations have long supported (even helped to found) anti-gay groups. Betsy DeVos’s mother was one of the major contributors to Prop 8 in California, which declared gay marriage illegal. Her family members are on the boards of Focus on the Family and Family Research Council. At her confirmation hearings, DeVos was asked about her connections to these anti-LGBT organizations, an
Mercedes Schneider: Betsy and ALEC, Perfect Together

by dianeravitch / 23h
Mercedes Schneider comments on the happy convergence of Betsy DeVos and the notorious anti-government ALEC. Their pro-corporate, profiteering views converge. https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/in-her-element-us-ed-sec-betsy-devos-to-be-alec-guest-speaker/ Schneider knows ALEC well, having written about it in the past. ALEC writes model legislation for states that want to get rid of public
Betsy DeVos Will Speak at Annual ALEC Meeting in Denver, July 19-21

by dianeravitch / 1d
Our Secretary of School Privatization Betsy DeVos will address her colleagues in arms, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), in Denver during their annual conference in mid-July. DeVos couldn’t find time to meet with the Education Writers Association but she will always have time for ALEC, which is funded by rightwing billionaires and major corporations. ALEC writes model legislation
Chicago: Rahm Emanuel’s Zany Graduation Requirement Draws Mixed Notices

by dianeravitch / 1d
Rahm Emanuel has a new plan: instead of funding the Chicago public schools, the Mayor–who controls the school system–has raised graduation requirements. Students cannot graduate unless they can prove they have post-secondary plans. Presumably, they will remain in high school for the rest of their lives if not. Dare we say it is doomed to fail? “In a radical policy change being referred to as ever


NYC: Mother Banned by Success Academy Because She Said “Damn” in Presence of Students

by dianeravitch / 1d
Eva Moskowitz’s Harlem Success Academy Charter chain won the Broad award for its high test scores a few days ago. The next day, news broke that the mother of a child in fourth grade in a Success Academy Charter School in Brooklyn was 
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