DeVos, unions drive Democratic candidates to back away from charter schools
The party's presidential hopefuls are improving their grades with labor groups representing teachers by looking to other education ideas.
WASHINGTON — In 2009, a newly-elected President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to remove limits on charter schools, saying it “isn't good for our children, our economy, or our country” to hinder their growth.
Ten years later, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced an almost mirror-image position: A national moratorium on federal funding for charter schools pending an audit, and a ban on for-profit charter schools.
"Charter schools are led by unaccountable, private bodies, and their growth has drained funding from the public school system," his campaign said in a press release.
He's hardly alone. At an education event in Iowa on Saturday, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg sounded a skeptical note toward charter schools.
"For-profit charter schools should not be part of our vision for the future," he told reporters. "And I think the expansion of charter schools in general is something that we need to really draw back on until we've corrected what needs to be corrected in terms of underfunded public education."
Charter schools — a type of public school that is independently operated and whose staff is often non-unionized — have long been a divisive issue within Democratic circles. Now, they're increasingly falling out of favor with the party's current crop of presidential candidates, who are aggressively courting teachers unions in a crowded field, and embracing education proposals more in tune with their demands.
Several candidates, including former Vice President Joe Biden and CONTINUE READING: DeVos, unions drive Democratic candidates to back away from charter schools
