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
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
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
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, 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
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
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,
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
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.
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 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
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
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
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
