Trump Issues Order for Back-Door Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog

Trump Issues Order for Back-Door Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog

Trump Issues Order for Back-Door Vouchers

Someone wrote an executive order, dated December 28, and signed Donald Trump’s name to it, declaring that the emergency conditions created by the COVID make it vital to use federal funds for vouchers. Don’t waste a minute! Scoop up federal funds and put your child in a substandard voucher school!

We know that Trump didn’t write the executive order because he’s at Mar-a-Lago nursing his grievances.

It appears to have been written by Jim Blew, who works for her and used to work for the Walton Foundation. Even if Trump refuses to concede, DeVos knows it’s over and she will use her last days in office to throw money out the door to find vouchers for private and religious schools.

Andrew Ujifusa of Education Week tweeted that the program Trump wants to use for vouchers is part of HHS, the Community Services Block Grants, and it does NOT make individual grants. Shows how desperate Betsy is to funnel money to vouchers as the sun sets on her days in CONTINUE READING: Trump Issues Order for Back-Door Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues

Eve Blad wrote in Education Week about where Miguel Cardona, Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education, stands on the issues:

On reopening schools during the pandemic: He favors in-person instruction, but has not mandated it. He recommends face masks.

“We all know remote learning will never replace the classroom experience,” Cardona wrote in a November opinion piece published in the Connecticut Mirror. “We also know that the health and safety of our students, staff, and their families must be the primary consideration when making decisions about school operations. The two are not mutually exclusive.”

Charter Schools: He has not taken a strong position for or against charter schools, but the state board has not approved any new charters since he took office in August 2019.

“Charter schools provide choice for parents that are seeking choice, so I think it’s a viable option, but [neighborhood schools] that’s going to be the core work that not only myself but the people behind me in the agency that I represent will have while I’m commissioner,” he said during his state confirmation hearing.

During the campaign, Biden promised to stop federal funding of for-profit charters, a small segment of the CONTINUE READING: Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues | Diane Ravitch's blog

K-12 Schools Get $57 Billion in COVID-19 Deal; No Relief for State and Local Governments

K-12 Schools Get $57 Billion in COVID-19 Deal; No Relief for State and Local Governments

K-12 Schools Get $57 Billion in COVID-19 Deal; No Relief for State and Local Governments

K-12 schools would receive about $57 billion in direct aid under a new $900 billion federal COVID-19 relief deal reached over the weekend by congressional negotiators.

The vast majority of that amount, $54.3 billion, would be for public schools in an education stabilization fund, and 90 percent of that must ultimately go to local school districts, including charter schools that function as districts. According to the legislation, schools could use the relief to address learning loss, to improve school facilities and infrastructure to reduce the risk of transmitting the coronavirus, and to purchase education technology. This funding would be available through September 2022.

Education organizations that have long pushed for additional aid for schools grappling with the effects of the pandemic characterized the bill, which is much smaller than some previous proposals, as a down payment. President-elect Joe Biden has suggested he will pursue an additional relief deal after his inauguration.

The legislation does not include more funding for the E-Rate program that supports internet service for schools and libraries. The bill does provide $3.2 billion to an CONTINUE READING: K-12 Schools Get $57 Billion in COVID-19 Deal; No Relief for State and Local Governments