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Friday, January 27, 2017

Sen. Franken: No Democrat will vote for Betsy DeVos as education secretary — and we’re seeking Republicans to oppose her - The Washington Post

Sen. Franken: No Democrat will vote for Betsy DeVos as education secretary — and we’re seeking Republicans to oppose her - The Washington Post:

Sen. Franken: No Democrat will vote for Betsy DeVos as education secretary — and we’re seeking Republicans to oppose her







Sen. Al Franken 


✔@SenFranken
It's clear that Betsy DeVos is not qualified for the job of @usedgov Sec., & I will not be supporting her nomination https://www.facebook.com/senatoralfranken/posts/1231060996979780 …
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) told Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show Thursday night that no Democrat will vote to confirm Betsy DeVos, the Michigan billionaire tapped by President Trump to be his education secretary. He also said Democrats were actively looking for Republicans to vote against her.
Her supporters praise her for being a longtime advocate of school choice, but her critics say her education advocacy is aimed at privatizing the country’s public education system.
DeVos appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions last week and fumbled badly, displaying a lack of understanding of key education issues under tough questioning from Democrats.
[Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing]
Since then, opposition to her nomination has been growing. Tens of thousands of people have called or written to senators urging them to vote against her, more than 1 million people have signed petitions, and hundreds of alumni and students from her alma mater, Calvin College, wrote a letter to the legislators saying she was unqualified to be education secretary.
DeVos has received expressions of support, too, notably from former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Her supporters are also pointing to public backing from Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal. WOOD-TV reported on emails and correspondence it had obtained on the endorsement. It said in part:


The correspondence shows plans for a trip to DeVos’ confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., paid for by DeVos’ nonprofit, American Federation for Sen. Franken: No Democrat will vote for Betsy DeVos as education secretary — and we’re seeking Republicans to oppose her - The Washington Post



by Susan Svrluga / 16min
Two universities have been added to the list of schools under investigation for their handling of complaints of sexual violence.
by Nick Anderson / 16min
Burwell was director of OMB and later the secretary of health and human services, an unusual background for a university president.
by Emma Brown / 16min
DeVos explains her commitment to federal laws protecting students with disabilities after stumbling on a question about it during her confirmation hearing.
by Emma Brown / 16min
Sen. Tim Scott's bill aims to give students with disabilities, military kids and low-income children in D.C. greater access to private schools.
by Valerie Strauss / 16min
Republican governor picks Common Core critic.
by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / 16min
Education Department said it corrected a coding error in the Scorecard that undercounted people who did not pay down the balance on their undergraduate student loans, but it took five months.
by Valerie Strauss / 16min
Choice supporters don't much like to talk about this.
by Nick Anderson / 16min
Researchers see early gender bias in girls as young as 6, which could have a lifelong impact.


by Lindsey Bever / 16min
The attorney for the San Diego teen said, “Something like this never should have happened to a 14-year-old girl just entering high school.”



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Divide and Conquer: “This proposal would devastate retirees and their surviving spouses.” | Reclaim Reform

Divide and Conquer: “This proposal would devastate retirees and their surviving spouses.” | Reclaim Reform:

Divide and Conquer: “This proposal would devastate retirees and their surviving spouses.”

Image result for Divide and Conquer


Cities and state politicians have simply refused to pay their legally required pension obligations for decades. They have borrowed from and/or created bonds based on pension systems. By continued underfunding (theft by taking owed money and giving it to others) and layering interest on interest, the guaranteed impoverishment continues its cancerous gnawing. These same politicians are now aiming to victimize the victims of their systemic theft as they themselves posture politically as “saviors” of the systems. To use Vietnam era logic and language, “We had to destroy the village to save the village.”
Destroy the pension system to save the pension system – at the price of suffering and impending doom to human beings who were part of the hard working middle class. These blamed victims are now demonized as lazy and undeserving.
TODAY: Cleveland employees are being threatened. This is NOT new or a Trump executive order. The ongoing systemic plan (not a mere conspiracy theory) is a long range working plan for pension raiders on a national basis.
“The reductions were made possible under a 2014 law that, for the first time, allowed financially troubled pensions to shrink payments to retirees if it would improve the health of the fund. Prior to the law, troubled pension plans could only cut benefits for current workers. Reductions for retirees were only possible after a fund had become insolvent.
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However, many bond holder investors are promised high interest levels and security to the investors first rather than to retirees first.
As reported earlier nationally,
“This proposal would devastate retirees and their surviving spouses. The proposal would also torpedo basic protections of the federal… pension law … that
once benefits are earned they can’t be cut back.”
To further dismantle governmental safeguards and to profit the bondholders and the Divide and Conquer: “This proposal would devastate retirees and their surviving spouses.” | Reclaim Reform:


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Trump's Questionable New Education Team | Truth in American Education

Trump's Questionable New Education Team | Truth in American Education:

Trump’s Questionable New Education Team


After the grassroots put their faith in Trump’s promises to end Common Core, his appointment of Betsy DeVos, an advocate of the standards, was a huge disappointment to them. Nevertheless, they remained steadfast in their support for Trump, and decided to send him a letter asking that any future appointments would hold the same views Trump expressed during the campaign. Unfortunately, their pleas were not heard. A list of education staffers sworn in this past Friday indicates that the Department of Education (ED) will be aligned to DeVos’ agenda, not Trump’s. Even if DeVos is not confirmed, likeminded people will be controlling White House education policies.
Despite Trump’s lambasting of Jeb Bush’s education policies, the list of staffers looks more like the choices that would have been made under a Jeb Bush administration. In fact, Politico reported that two of Jeb’s former employees have been given top posts on the education team. Josh Venable, who worked for both Jeb’s campaign and FEE, was listed as Trump’s “top choice for chief of staff.” Andrew Kossack, another alum of FEE, was also added to the mix. Kossack also served as general counsel to Indiana’s former superintendent of education, Tony Bennett, who championed the adoption of Common Core.
The grassroots are beginning to fear that Trump’s criticism of Jeb’s support for Common Core was all an act. Why wouldn’t they? Jason Botel, executive director of the Maryland education advocacy group MarylandCAN (financed by Bill Gates), also joined the Trump administration as senior White House adviser for education. Like DeVos, he has a long history of supporting Common Core. Unlike DeVos, there is video to prove it. During a forum held by the Maryland Public Policy Institute in 2014, he stated that, not only was he “excited about Common Core,” but that he would “insist on it” as a tool to compare student data from state to state.
It gets worse with the announcement of Phil Rosenfelt as acting education secretary. Politico reported that “the new senior adviser for education, Botel, will work closely with Acting Education Trump's Questionable New Education Team | Truth in American Education:


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Jeff Bryant: Democratic senators are going after DeVos' obvious conflicts of interest, particularly w/ charter school chains

Democratic senators are going after DeVos' obvious conflicts of interest, particularly w/ charter school chains

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Jeff Bryant: @jeffbcdm

Democratic senators are going after DeVos' obvious conflicts of interest, particularly w/ charter school chains bit.ly/2kv1uSv
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Breaking News – Hartford Mayor nominates anti-gay marriage leader for vacancy on the Hartford School Board - Wait What?

Breaking News – Hartford Mayor nominates anti-gay marriage leader for vacancy on the Hartford School Board - Wait What?:

Breaking News – Hartford Mayor nominates anti-gay marriage leader for vacancy on the Hartford School Board


Yesterday, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin nominated Harold Sparrow, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford, to serve on the Hartford Board of Education.
As the Hartford Courant explained, Bronin is now trying to persuade the Hartford City Council to hold a rush vote on Sparrow’s nomination, apparently trying to get a vote as early as this coming Monday, January 27, 2017
Harold Sparrow is new to Hartford, having been appointed President of the Hartford YMCA in the spring of 2015.  His principal experience was serving with the Boston YMCA and as Executive Director of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston from 2002 – 2007.
In support of Sparrow, Bronin was quoted as praising his nominee for his “extensive experience in organizational leadership and management.”
Bronin is either unaware or worse, intentionally overlooked, the critical role that Harold Sparrow played in opposing gay rights and marriage equality when he was working in Massachusetts.
As leader of the BMA of Greater Boston, Harold Sparrow played a leadership position in the organization’s high-profile opposition to gay rights and marriage equity.


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STEVEN SINGER: Trump Says Our Schools Are “Flush with Cash!?” They’re Falling Apart! - BillMoyers

Trump Says Our Schools Are “Flush with Cash!?” They’re Falling Apart! - BillMoyers.com:

Trump Says Our Schools Are “Flush with Cash!?” They’re Falling Apart!

Our schools have not gotten worse; they've stayed the same

Image result for Schools Are “Flush with Cash

 This post originally appeared at Common Dreams.


Donald Trump lies.
If you haven’t learned that yet, America, you’ve got four more cringe-inducing years to do so.
Even in his inaugural address, he couldn’t help but let loose a whooper about US public schools.
“Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves,” he said. “But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. … An education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge.”
To which nearly every poor, nonwhite public school parent, student and teacher in the country replied, “What’s that heck did he just say now!?”
Los Angeles Unified School District routinely has broken desks and chairs, missing ceiling tiles, damaged flooring, broken sprinklers, damaged lunch tables and broken toilet paper dispensers.
They’re flush with cash!?
New York City public schools removed more than 160 toxic light fixtures containing polychlorinated biphenyls, a cancer causing agent that also hinders cognitive and neurological development. Yet many schools are still waiting on a fix, especially those serving minority students.
They’re flush with cash!?
At Charles L. Spain school in Detroit, the air vents are so warped and moldy, turning on the heat brings a rancid stench. Water drips from a leaky roof into the gym, warping the floor tiles. Cockroaches literally scurry around some children’s classrooms until they are squashed by student volunteers.
They’re flush with freakin cash!?
Are you serious, Donald Trump!?
And this same picture is repeated at thousands of public schools across the nation especially in impoverished neighborhoods. Especially in communities serving a disproportionate number of black, Latino or other minority students.
In predominantly white, upper-class neighborhoods, the schools often ARE “flush with cash.” Olympic-size swimming pools, pristine bathrooms — heck — air conditioning! But in another America across the tracks, schools are defunded, ignored and left Trump Says Our Schools Are “Flush with Cash!?” They’re Falling Apart! - BillMoyers.com:
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CURMUDGUCATION: More USED Patronage Appointments

CURMUDGUCATION: More USED Patronage Appointments:

More USED Patronage Appointments


The Trump Department of Education continues to shape up as a place that is, perhaps, more about patronage than education.

Today we have word from the Huffington Post that a memo from Jason Botel (another supremely reformy appointment as Senior White House Adviser for Education) that the following folks have been brought into the department:

Derrick Bolen
Debbie Cox-Roush
Kevin Eck
Holly Ham
Ron Holden
Amy Jones
Andrew Kossack
Cody J. Reynolds
Patrick Shaheen
Teresa UnRue
Josh Venable
Eric Ventimiglia
Beatriz Ramos
Jerry Ward
Patrick Young


The name that has attracted the most attention is Teresa UnRue, a 2010 grad of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh whose background is graphic design and printing and who served as an advance organizer for the Trump campaign in South Carolina. She's also apparently given to plenty of racist tweeting.

What about the rest of the list? Well, Dr. Google's work must always be taken with a grain of salt, but here's what I can find this morning.

There's a Derrick Bolen who is a regional field director for the Republican National Committee who graduated from Liberty University in 2016 with a BS in Political Science and Government.

 Debbie Cox Roush has already updated her LinkedIN account to show her as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the US Department of Education. Her previous experience is running DCR Creative Solutions of Florida, "an advocacy consulting and events Management Company." She was the Florida State Grassroots Director for the Trump campaign (she previously worked for Rubio). She's been politically active, has not always played well with fellow GOPs, but has little education background at all (Georgetown College, BA in History/Education, 1976).


There's a Kevin Eck who is a professional wrestler who says that Donald Trump is not fit to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. I'm guessing that's not our guy. There are a lot of Kevin Ecks out there.

Holly Ham has also updated her LinkedIn profile. The former Hewlett Packard sales exec and CURMUDGUCATION: More USED Patronage Appointments:



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Students with Disabilities Deserve Better Than Donald Trump's Betsy Devos | Knowledge Bank | US News

Students with Disabilities Deserve Better Than Donald Trump's Betsy Devos | Knowledge Bank | US News:

A Danger to Students With Disabilities
Students with disabilities deserve a secretary of education who will protect their civil rights.


The Senate confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to run the U.S. Department of Education, was cringe-inducing, to say the least. DeVos demonstrated little to no knowledge about the key issues facing the department she's been tapped to lead, and she refused to commit to enforcing key civil rights laws and protecting public education.
But by far the most troubling moment came when DeVos claimed that enforcing the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, "is a matter best left to the states." DeVos then admitted that she "may have [been] confused" about whether it is actually a federal law.
It is simply unacceptable for a nominee to be "confused" about one of the most important civil rights laws ever enacted in the United States. IDEA provides critical protections for the 6.5 million students with disabilities – more than 1 out of every 8 students across the country – who receive special education services by requiring states and districts to provide a free, appropriate public education to every one of these students. And it provides $12 billion in funding to states, making it the second-largest K-12 program that DeVos would be responsible for administering.
Protecting the rights of students with disabilities and funding their education aren't partisan issues. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have historically supported IDEA and the funding it provides. And it is the federal education program that gets the highest level of support from the public – even more than financial aid for college students or Title I grants for low-income schools.
This support stems from the dramatic gains the nation has achieved as a result of this essential law. Before Congress passed the first version of IDEA in 1975, children with disabilities often received a minimal education and were placed in segregated settings away from their peers without disabilities. The law gave parents the right to an individualized education program for their child and provided avenues for parents to force states and districts to recognize their child's needs and provide necessary services. As a direct result of the law, today more than 60 percent of students with disabilities spend at least 80 percent of their day in a general education classroom.
Furthermore, outcomes for these students – while still unacceptably low compared to students without disabilities – have improved significantly. The graduation rate of students with disabilities has increased by more than 5 percentage points in four years, and reading and math scores have improved as well.
DeVos's lack of understanding of even the most basic facets of IDEA is troubling on its own. But even more concerning is the fact that DeVos is a single-issue lobbyist for voucher programs, including programs like the McKay Scholarship in Florida and the Special Needs Scholarship Program in Georgia. These two programs – and others like them around the country – require parents to sign away their rights under IDEA to receive Students with Disabilities Deserve Better Than Donald Trump's Betsy Devos | Knowledge Bank | US News:


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What taxpayers should know about the cost of school choice - The Washington Post

What taxpayers should know about the cost of school choice - The Washington Post:

What taxpayers should know about the cost of school choice



School choice proponents often attack their critics by saying that anyone who doesn’t support choice programs — charter schools, voucher programs, tax scholarship credits — love the status quo and don’t care that children are trapped in failing traditional public schools.
So let’s stipulate from the start:
*There are some perfectly awful publicly funded traditional public schools and some severely troubled districts, especially in America’s cities. Kids shouldn’t be trapped in them.
*There are some great charter schools, which are publicly funded but run privately, some of them by for-profit companies. In some cities, some charters provide better experiences than the traditional public school.
*All choice supporters aren’t interested in destroying the traditional public system, and no supporter of the traditional public system that I have ever heard of thinks the traditional schools don’t need improvement.
Now let’s move on.
School choice proponents say that the programs they support do a better job of educating students and that parents have a right to choose the schools they want for their children. Some choice supporters have voiced support for more oversight of charter schools, but the overall thrust of the movement is for expansion of choice, not oversight.
Critics say that charter and voucher schools do not do a better job than traditional schools overall, that they reduce resources traditional districts need to improve and educate the vast majority of America’s schoolchildren who attend them, that they are not held to the same standards as traditional schools and that they are not accountable to the public.
President Trump has promised to expand school choice — and the Republican-led Congress wants to do the same. Trump has nominated a choice advocate, Betsy DeVos, as his education secretary, who is seen by critics as seeking to privatize public education, though her supporters say she isn’t.
[Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing]
This is School Choice Week, a time when organizations that promote charter schools and/or vouchers and/or tax scholarship credits stage literally thousands of rallies (21,392 to be exact, according to the week’s own website) across the country to let Americans know how great school choice programs are. Do not expect to hear, at any of these, about this:
Federal agents raided the offices of a network of Los Angeles charter schools Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of fraud and fiscal mismanagement. The charter organization, Celerity Educational Group, opened its first L.A. school more than a decade ago, but it has recently drawn the scrutiny of the inspector general of the Los Angeles Unified School District and the U.S. 
What taxpayers should know about the cost of school choice - The Washington Post:



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CURMUDGUCATION: Edushyster In DeVosland

CURMUDGUCATION: Edushyster In DeVosland:

Edushyster In DeVosland


Jennifer Berkshire often takes the unusual blogging step of doing actual journalism, like the kind where you call people and go places and actually talk to the carbon-based life forms who are involved in What's Going On. That's just part of what makes Edushyster required reading for anybody in the ed debates.

She recently traveled to DeVosland, the Michigan home base and spawning ground for Betsy DeVos, presumptive Secretary of Education, and her clan. Nine days, forty-some interviews, and a couple of exceptional posts were the product, but I wanted to hear more (and to add my vote for her to write a full-on book), so I took a page from her book and talked to her via phone. There are so many more stories to tell.

Berkshire has a keen sense of a particularly worded phrase, and she was struck by Jeb Bush's pledge pledge that DeVos would be a "champion of parents, not institutions" which strikes her a reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher's "There is no such thing as society." What Thatcher meant was that there are only individuals, families and other groups of humans, but larger social structures aren't real-- particularly the ones that are charged with providing support and service for society's members. When DeVos says that she doesn't stand with institutions, that includes institutions that look out for vulnerable citizens who may not have the power to look out for themselves. You know. Like schools.

Traveling to Michigan is really a must when studying DeVos, because within the state, they've never been particularly sneaky or subtle about what they want; it's almost as if it never occurred to them that someday Betsy might need to talk about civil rights with a straight face. Berkshire says, "For example, the family paw prints are all over various legislative maneuvers intended to disenfranchise African Americans, the beefed up emergency manager law that created the Flint water disaster CURMUDGUCATION: Edushyster In DeVosland:

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