Network for Public Education Declares Charters Are Not Public Schools, Calling for Moratorium and Legislative Accountability
The organization co-founded by Diane Ravitch and Anthony Cody says stop calling them public schools.
Network for Public Education President, Diane Ravitch, did far more than criticize the Democrats in her recently published article entitled, Don’t Like Betsy DeVos? Blame the Democrats. She reminded us that privatization did not begin with vouchers and Betsy DeVos. Charter schools, supported by both parties, have played a central role in the process of school privatization.
The bottom line is the rhetoric that charter schools are public schools just does not hold up. Either you believe that taxpayer-funded schools should be nested in democracy, or you believe that private boards should run schools pretty much the way the want with taxpayers footing the bill. In her piece, Diane points out the scandals and the lackluster scores associated with charters. She says it is time for Democrats to defend public schools and demand that charters reform. She concludes by giving some examples of Governors who are keeping charters in line despite the pressure to cave to the powerful money interests that has pushed charters for two decades and a half.
Diane, of course, is correct. Charter are a big part of the privatization portfolio. Betsy DeVos does not oppose charters; she embraces them. In fact, her husband started one of his own.
And so it seemed important that NPE, the organization started by Diane Ravitch and Anthony Cody in 2013, issue a strong statement that draws a bright line between what is truly a public school and what is not. It is time to not only Network for Public Education Declares Charters Are Not Public Schools, Calling for Moratorium and Legislative Accountability | Alternet:
