Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes | News, Sports, Jobs - Journal News

Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes | News, Sports, Jobs - Journal News:

Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes

MARTINSBURG — The president of the American Federation of Teachers criticized Jefferson County School District’s’ use of online advanced placement classes at the district high schools, claiming the courses do not provide students the same educational experience as classes that us an in-classroom instructor.

AFT President Randi Weingarten, who visited two Jefferson County Schools on Tuesday, said online AP classes fall short in providing teacher-student interaction essential to higher level subjects courses. The AFT is a teachers union representing approximately1.6 million teachers nationwide.

“How can you possibly teach an AP course through a computer,” Weingarten said. “Of course a computer is not going to work for an AP class, because there’s no engagement there.”

Online AP classes should only be used when a school district is unable to place a qualified instructor to teach the class, Weingarten said.

“Our job is a human job — it’s a connective tissue job — working with students,” Weingarten said.

Weingarten’s comments about the district’s online AP classes come three weeks after a group of parents appeared before the Jefferson County Board of Education to voice their concerns over their children’s online English and history classes at Jefferson High School.

At the Feb. 14 BOE meeting, parents claimed their children’s online advanced placement classes do not prepare them for college the same way an AP course with an in-class teacher would. More than a dozen parents and students spoke at the meeting, claiming the district’s advanced placement courses taught online are sub-par compared to AP classes with an in-the-classroom teacher.

According to Weingarten, having an actual instructor in class is essential to teaching the higher Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes | News, Sports, Jobs - Journal News:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice:

It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice

Marines Martinez from Chicago ACTS Local 4343 tells media that ASPIRA charter teachers are willing to go on strike to “take a stand for our students and our larger communities.” 

BREAD & ROSES...It's International Women's Day and what better way to celebrate than to show some solidarity with Chicago's, mostly women of color, fast food workers who are filing EEOC complaints today against Burger King. The filing will be followed by a protest in front of a downtown Burger King restaurant to demand an end to the rampant sexual harassment and workplace violence happening in their stores.

Fast food workers at BK stores across the city have experienced physical and verbal abuse along with intimidation from general management at several locations owned by the same franchisee. One under-aged woman worker was fired for not consenting to specific sexual requests.

Contact Deivid Rojas, Communications Director Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago,
Fight For 15 Chicago for more. 312.219.0008.

THE KLONSKY BROS. will be talking plenty of IWD stuff and more with 10th Ward Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza on Hitting Left radio, Friday at 11 a.m. on WLPN 105.5 F.M., streaming live at Lumpen Radio. Don't miss.

A SMALLTALK SALUTE goes out to charter school teachers at ASPIRA AND Nobel charters who are unionizing and fighting the good fight on behalf of teachers and students everywhere.

ASPIRA teachers have set March 17th as their strike date unless a last-minute agreement is reached. If they do strike, it will be the first strike of charter schools in the nation. ASPIRA runs four publicly funded Chicago charter schools, serves 1,400 students - who are mostly Latino - and has 106 educators.

Teachers said at a press conference Tuesday that ASPIRA schools were not allocating money correctly, letting basic school building needs - like clean bathrooms and stalls - are falling by the wayside. Educators posted photos on Facebook from inside the high school of leaky ceilings, water marks and bug traps in the building.

"We want to make sure that ASPIRA tells us where they are spending their money. If you walk into our schools... I've been with ASPIRA for five years and every year Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice:

Turf battle developing over who can test California’s 11th-graders | EdSource

Turf battle developing over who can test California’s 11th-graders | EdSource:

Turf battle developing over who can test California’s 11th-graders 

California is quickly becoming a national battleground over the franchise for testing high school juniors. The College Board, producer of the SAT college admissions test, wants in, while state officials, defenders of the state’s current test provider, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, have a new strategy to keep the SAT and the ACT, the other main college admissions test, out.

What’s at stake is not only two test providers’ market share in the nation’s biggest state, but also their ability to deliver on a double promise: preparing the state’s high school students for admission to college and measuring their mastery of the state’s standards in math and English language arts.

Here’s what happened last week:

• In an interview, Long Beach Unified Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser said he would challenge the state’s rejection of his request to give the SAT instead of the Smarter Balanced math and English language arts tests to all 11th-graders in his district. “We’re not giving up and will explore all options,” including seeking legislation, he said. “We’re not against SBAC (Smarter Balanced) by any means, but it doesn’t serve the purpose we need to serve.”

• In letters to University of California President Janet Napolitano and to California State University Chancellor Timothy White, State Board of Education President Michael Kirst and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson asked the university systems to incorporate student scores on the Smarter Balanced 11th-grade tests into admissions decisions – as a potential replacement for the SAT and ACT. This would be a big change for Smarter Balanced, which is used to measure student achievement in high school but was not created for college admissions decisions.

Steinhauser remains adamant in pressing his case for the state’s third-largest district to switch to the SAT. It is one of two dozen districts that give both the Smarter Balanced tests, as required by state law, and the SAT, at their own expense, to all juniors.

Steinhauser said parents, students and teachers want to focus full attention on the SAT because its scores are a key component for college admission. And, starting in the 8th grade, Long Beach uses the PSAT, other assessments by the College Board, and free online tutorials by the Khan Academy to prepare students for the SAT. Smarter Balanced gives tests to grades 3-8 and grade 11, but Turf battle developing over who can test California’s 11th-graders | EdSource:

Trump frames ‘school choice’ agenda as civil rights initiative

by Louis Freedberg / 9h

The Trump administration has had to overcome a series of controversies and embarrassments regarding civil rights since the November election. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit the Edsource Today website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

When using data to predict outcomes, consider the ethical dilemmas, new report urges - The Hechinger Report

When using data to predict outcomes, consider the ethical dilemmas, new report urges - The Hechinger Report:

When using data to predict outcomes, consider the ethical dilemmas, new report urges
Researchers say colleges need to take care in how they use predictive analytics

Colleges and universities that use sophisticated data systems to analyze and guide students must be careful to avoid ethical dilemmas that can arise, like pigeonholing students unfairly or underestimating their abilities, according to a new report that analyzed common pitfalls of these systems.

These systems, known as predictive analytics, have the potential to reinforce disparities for disadvantaged students if used without proper training and consideration for how computers might shuffle students into categories, according to the report from New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report was released this week at SXSWedu, a national education technology conference in Austin, Texas.“We should always try to balance the potential of technology with its risks,” said Manuela Ekowo, an education policy analyst at New America, who co-authored the report with Iris Palmer, a senior policy analyst. “We shouldn’t let technology blindfold us to the ways it can do harm, particularly to students from underserved and under-represented backgrounds.”

Predictive analytics uses data to help inform instruction or academic guidance for students. It takes past performance, such as grades or other data points thought to be correlated with academic success, and attempts to distill that data into reports that can help ensure a student stays on track for graduation. It is a growing trend in higher education but it’s not ubiquitous. A report last fall from the same authors estimated that less than half of higher education institutions surveyed use data in this way.

Some say these methods can help improve student outcomes. Georgia State University, for instance, uses this type of a program to 

When using data to predict outcomes, consider the ethical dilemmas, new report urges - The Hechinger Report:

‘As a teacher and a woman, I don’t like this one bit’ - The Washington Post

‘As a teacher and a woman, I don’t like this one bit’ - The Washington Post:

‘As a teacher and a woman, I don’t like this one bit’

Following the success of women’s marches around the country and overseas after the inauguration of President Trump, the organizers called for a new protest, “A Day Without a Woman,” on March 8, on which, as its title proclaims, women are being called to stay home and not spend money to show their economic strength. Some schools — including entire districts — closed, fearing that there would not be enough staff to operate, and rallies were held as part of the U.N. International Women’s Day.

The action has drawn its supporters, who say that women must find ways to show their political and economic power at a time when they fear the Trump administration will hurt issues that matter to them. There are critics with different concerns, including Patricia Gordon, a teacher at T.C. Williams High School in the Alexandria City public schools district in Virginia, where classes were canceled Wednesday because of the protest.  The district website explains why it took this action in a note on its website that says in part:

It has come to our attention that as of March 6, 2017, more than 300 staff members have requested leave this Wednesday, March 8. Given the unusually high number of requests, this may be attributed to the observance of International Women’s Day. This day has also been deemed A Day Without Women. Consequently, ACPS has decided to close schools for students for the day. This day will be a teacher work day for ACPS staff. This is in addition to the teacher work day that is on Friday, March 10.

This is not a decision that was made lightly. We have been closely monitoring requests for leave on March 8, including communicating with school leaders and our education association. The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction. It is not based on a political stance or position.

Students will not be required to make up this instructional day. … We understand that when schools close there is an impact on families, who may have to find unanticipated child care. We apologize for this unforeseen burden on parents and thank you for your patience and understanding.

Gordon isn’t happy with the protest, and in this post, she explains why. It first appeared on the ‘As a teacher and a woman, I don’t like this one bit’ - The Washington Post:

These For-Profit Schools Are ‘Like a Prison’ - ProPublica

These For-Profit Schools Are ‘Like a Prison’ - ProPublica:

These For-Profit Schools Are ‘Like a Prison’
Camelot Education takes the students that public schools have given up on. But some current and former students say its discipline goes too far.

 This story was co-published with Slate.

Teenagers at Paramount Academy sometimes came home with mysterious injuries.

An alternative school for sixth- through 12th-graders with behavioral or academic problems, Paramount occupied a low-slung, brick and concrete building on a dead-end road in hard-luck Reading, Pennsylvania, a city whose streets are littered with signs advertising bail bondsmen, pay-day lenders, and pawn shops. Camelot Education, the for-profit company that ran Paramount under a contract with the Reading school district, maintained a set of strict protocols: No jewelry, book bags, or using the water fountain or bathroom without permission. Just as it still does at dozens of schools, the company deployed a small platoon of “behavioral specialists” and “team leaders”: typically large men whose job was partly to enforce the rules.

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Over six months in 2013 and 2014, about a half-dozen parents, students and community members at Paramount Academy — billed as a “therapeutic” day program — complained of abusive behavior by the school’s staff. One mother heard that staff restrained students by “excessive force” and bruised the arms of a female student, according to email exchanges between Camelot and the district. Another mother, Sharon Pacharis, said she visited the school to complain about manhandling and was told, “That’s just what we do.” Camelot’s own written reports to the district documented one incident in which a teenager was scratched and another in which a bathroom wall was damaged. Both resulted from “holds” — likely a reference to Camelot’s protocol for restraining students during a physical encounter.

Camelot tended to blame the students in its weekly reports to the district, calling them “out of control”; school officials referred several to police. It was, after all, a place partly for students whom the district had deemed too disruptive for a traditional school setting.

But an incident on April 24, 2014, abruptly shifted the focus to Camelot’s staff.

Ismael Seals, a behavioral specialist, walked into a classroom with several loud and boisterous students and commanded them to “shut the fuck up,” decreeing that the next one who talked would get body-slammed through the door, according to a subsequent criminal complaint. Moments later, Seals fulfilled his promise. After 17-year-old Corey Mack asked and received permission from his teacher, Teresa Bivens, to get up to sharpen his pencil, Seals pushed him repeatedly against a door and then shoved him into the hall, where a school surveillance camera recorded most of the rest of the incident. Seals, 6 feet 4 inches tall and 280 pounds, lifted Mack, 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 160 pounds, by his shirt and swung him into the wall headfirst, later pinning him to the ground as other staff members arrived, according to court documents.

Mack later showed a string of bruises and scratches on his back to a program director at a These For-Profit Schools Are ‘Like a Prison’ - ProPublica:

Work Hard, Be Hard: Journeys Through "No Excuses" Teaching, By Jim Horn, 9781475825794 | Rowman & Littlefield - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475825794/Work-Hard-Be-Hard-Journeys-Through-%22No-Excuses%22-Teaching

Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse - The New York Times

Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse - The New York Times:

Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse

In January, New York City’s schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, sent a letter home to students’ families, reassuring them that the city was not keeping records of their immigration status and that immigration agents would not be roaming schools unfettered.

But that has not kept the questions from coming, said Maite Junco, a senior adviser at the city’s Education Department.

School administrators and parents who are worried about the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants want “details on exactly how the process works,” Ms. Junco said. “In a circumstance where ICE shows up at the school,” she said, using the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “what is the minute-by-minute protocol almost.” Ms. Junco said the department was planning to circulate more detailed guidelines to schools in the coming days.

Across the region — and the country — education officials are facing a similar flood of questions from principals and frantic parents, especially in districts with large numbers of immigrants, some of whom are undocumented. In response, states have distributed letters to superintendents about asking for warrants and subpoenas from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Reminders have circulated that schools are never to ask families about their immigration status when they enroll their children. And districts have circulated memos about what to do if federal immigration officers show up at the schoolhouse door.No such raids have been documented so far, and the Department of Homeland Security has declared schools off limits. But under the Trump administration, immigration policies have changed sharply and without much warning. Districts say they want to be prepared.

“If you’re sitting there in math class wondering if someone is going to burst through the door and pick you up, you’re not going to be learning math well,” said William Clark, chief operating officer of the New Haven Board of Education in Connecticut. “The kids should not be worried about this. They’re here to learn.”

For the moment, much of what school systems are offering is guidance, and whether it is written by the Connecticut public university system, the New York City Education Department or the State of Virginia, many of the recommendations are similar. Schools often say student information must not be shared without a court order or subpoena. They instruct that if an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer comes looking for a student, the school officials should demand to see a warrant and review it carefully to find out what exactly it permits.

“The law does provide protections for students, and there are limitations of what law enforcement can do,” said Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse - The New York Times:

Steve Zimmer Still Standing: Runoffs appear likely in two of three pivotal L.A. school board contests - LA Times

Runoffs appear likely in two of three pivotal L.A. school board contests - LA Times:

Runoffs appear likely in two of three pivotal L.A. school board contests

Millions of dollars have poured into races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education this year in contests that could for the first time shift the balance of power in the nation’s second-largest school district in favor of fast growth of charter schools.

In early returns, Monica Garcia, a charter ally, appeared on her way to another term in District 2, while in District 4, school board President Steve Zimmer was in first place but seemed headed for a May runoff against Nick Melvoin, who also had backing from pro-charter forces.

A runoff also seemed likely for the third seat on the ballot, where there was no incumbent. In that race, Kelly Gonez was ahead of Imelda Padilla in a field of six.

To avoid a runoff of the top two finishers, a candidate had to claim more than 50% of the votes. Tuesday’s races marked the latest battle between supporters of charter schools and those allied with the teachers union. Those two factions spent millions of dollars on outside campaigns that dominated the election.

Zimmer said he hoped that voters understood what was at stake.

“Voters have a stark choice,” he said, “between whether we can make more dreams come true for kids through working together with our teachers and parents or whether we’re going to return to the politics of conflict, competition and confrontation.”Runoffs appear likely in two of three pivotal L.A. school board contests - LA Times:

The Embedding of AP in American High Schools: The Debate

The Embedding of AP in American High Schools: The Debate:

The Embedding of AP in American High Schools: The Debate

Questions about whether America’s high schools should drop Advanced Placement (AP) classes, created a debate on social media. The fact that AP is driven by an outside money-making nonprofit, sometimes bothered parents and teachers, but not enough to end AP. Or, it did not seem to matter to some.

The overriding question could be why are so many parents and teachers convinced that students must do college work in high school? Students should not be denied challenging work, but the fervor with which many parents and teachers have bought into AP is worrisome.

Also, many people like to tout that AP is best, but it is difficult to find recent research to indicate that AP helps students do better in college. The one Stanford study indicates difficulty in showing causality—meaning students who do well in college after taking AP classes, probably would have done well anyway.

A friend suggested that I discuss how AP has become embedded in high schools. Whether you like AP or not it is very much a part of the high school landscape. That all The Embedding of AP in American High Schools: The Debate: 

What Do Standardized Test Scores Really Measure? David Berliner Explains | janresseger

What Do Standardized Test Scores Really Measure? David Berliner Explains | janresseger:

What Do Standardized Test Scores Really Measure? David Berliner Explains

David Berliner has been teaching about education policy and writing books on education and school psychology for decades. The best known for readers outside colleges of education are The Manufactured Crisis and 50 Myths and Lies that Threaten America’s Public Schools. Yesterday in a pithy column published by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post, Berliner explains why none of our current strategies for school reform will work. Not corporate school reform. Not test and punish accountability. Not blaming school teachers. Not charter school and voucher strategies that allow some promising students to escape public schools—the plans favored by Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos. Berliner’s analysis is definitive. He demonstrates that our society has been on the wrong path for decades.

The test scores by which our society now judges schools don’t really measure the quality of schools: “As income increases per family from our poorest families (under the 25th percentile in wealth), to working class (26th-50th percentile in family wealth), to middle class (51st to 75th percentile in family wealth), to wealthy (the highest quartile in family wealth), mean scores go up quite substantially. In every standardized achievement test whose scores we use to judge the quality of the education received by our children, family income strongly and significantly influences the mean scores obtained.”  Berliner continues: “Similarly, as the families served by a school increase in wealth from the lowest quartile in family wealth to the highest quartile in family wealth, the mean score of all the students at those schools goes up quite substantially. Thus, characteristics of the cohort attending a school strongly influence the scores obtained by the students at that school.”

Berliner adds that, while critics of public education complain about overall U.S. scores on international tests, our wealthiest students do as well as the highest scoring students in the world: “We learn that in the United States, wealthy children attending public schools that serve the wealthy are competitive with any nation in the world. Since that is the case, why would anyone think our public schools are failing? When compared with other nations, someWhat Do Standardized Test Scores Really Measure? David Berliner Explains | janresseger:

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento City Unified Declares Schools Safe Havens

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento City Unified Declares Schools Safe Havens:

Sacramento City Unified Declares Schools Safe Havens

Community leaders pledge support for the district’s efforts to inform every student and their families of the legal rights of the undocumented by distributing tens of thousands of ‘know your rights’ fliers at all schools, coordinating with community organizations to provide legal resources in classrooms, and covering all campuses with banners and lawn signs promoting inclusion and welcoming all students.

SACRAMENTO, CA—The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) today announced the launch of a campaign to protect its undocumented students and staff amid growing fears of deportation in immigrant communities. The campaign is the first of its kind in California and is the next step in SCUSD’s national leadership on protecting and standing up for undocumented students and their families. District leaders were joined today by State Assemblymember Jim Cooper, City Councilmember Eric Guerra and dozens of students, teachers and community members.

“Our Safe Haven policy was the first step we took to protect our kids,” said SCUSD Vice President Jessie Ryan. “Today, we are taking an even bigger step by launching a full campaign to make sure every undocumented student and parent in our school district knows their rights if approached by immigration officials.”

In December, SCUSD approved Resolution 2915 which directed Superintendent José Banda to support the creation of a Safe Haven district that included compliance with a 2011 federal policy that immigration enforcement officials could not enter district campuses or facilities without prior written approval from the Superintendent. The resolution also restricts the sharing of student files that can be used to determine a student’s immigration status.

The district became one of the first districts in the state to adopt a Safe Haven policy, which has since been described by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson as a model for the rest of California. “This resolution sent a strong message up and down the state that if federal immigration officials try to come on to our schools or use our data to target undocumented students and their families, we will take proactive measures to protect them,” said Ryan.

With today’s announcement, SCUSD is taking further steps to ensure that undocumented students, staff and families are aware of their rights and feel welcome and included. The district announced it will distribute tens of thousands of “know your rights” cards in multiple languages to all students and will assist in coordinating immigration attorneys and providers of other resources to help these individuals at school sites. District officials also want to reinforce a message that all students are welcome. The district will begin hanging up multi-colored banners and lawn signs at every school site with the message: “Safe Haven: ALL students are welcome”. It will also be running a series of ads and promotional videos on social media to underscore the contributions of undocumented students and families in the community. Parents, teachers and community members will be encouraged to join the campaign by signing pledge cards in support of the Safe Haven effort.

“Our campaign is going to reinforce one common theme—that ALL students are welcome at our schools and that undocumented students play a valuable role in the everyday life of our campuses, and that they are a part of the fabric of our district,” said SCUSD Superintendent José Banda. According to Banda, the district will leverage all of its resources and community connections to help and protect its students.

For SCUSD Board Member Mai Vang, the Safe Haven campaign is very personal. “My parents came to this country decades ago as refugees,” said Vang, whose parents attended SCUSD schools.  “Like many of the immigrant families that we are seeking to protect today, my parents came here fleeing an unsafe environment, in need of opportunities that were not possible in their home land.  They did not let hateful rhetoric or people push them out.”

SCUSD is one of the most diverse school districts in the country.  As many as one in five of its students and families could be affected by federal immigration policies. The district has:

• More than 43,000 students
• 48 different spoken languages that include Spanish, Hmong, Armenian, Korean, Tagalog, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Russian
• 64% qualify for free or reduced lunch
• 17,104 are of Latino descent
• 34,896 are students of color
• In 2015-16, nearly one-third of students were English language learners or non-native speakers

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento City Unified Declares Schools Safe Havens:

Koch Bros Funded Publication Criticizes – ME – on School Choice! | gadflyonthewallblog

Koch Bros Funded Publication Criticizes – ME – on School Choice! | gadflyonthewallblog:

Koch Bros Funded Publication Criticizes – ME – on School Choice!

You know you’ve made it when the Koch Brothers are funding a critique of your work.

Most of the time I just toil in obscurity.

I sit behind my computer furiously pounding away at the keys sending my little blog entries out onto the Interwebs never expecting much of a reply.

Sure I get fervent wishes for my death.

And the occasional racist diatribe that only tangentially has anything to do with what I wrote.

But a response from a conservative Web magazine funded by the world’s most famous billionaire brothers!?

I guess this is what the big time feels like!

The article appeared in The Federalist, an Internet publication mostly known for anti-LGBT diatribes and climate change denial. But I had the audacity to write something called “Top 10 Reasons School Choice is No Choice.”

I had to be taken down.

And they had just the person to do it – far right religious author Mary C. Tillotson.

You may remember her from such hard hitting pieces as “How Praying a Novena Helped Me Process This Election,” “Sometimes, Holiness is Boring,” and “Why It’s Idiotic to Blame Christians for the Orlando Attack.”
This week her article is called “Top 10 Reasons HuffPo Doesn’t Get School Choice.”

Which is kinda’ wrong from the get-go.

Yes, I published my article in the Huffington Post, but it is not exactly indicative of the editorial slant of that publication. Sure, HuffPo leans left, but it routinely published articles that are extremely favorable to school choice. Heck! Michelle Rhee is a freakin’ contributor!

So I don’t think it’s fair to blame HuffPo for my ideas on school choice. A better title might have been “Top 10 Reasons Singer Doesn’t Get School Choice,” but who the Heck is Singer and why should anyone care!?

Then she gives a quick summary of how my whole piece is just plain wrong: “Steven Singer of The Huffington Post would have you believe that when parents have more choices, they have fewer choices.”

That’s like writing “Steven Singer of Consumer Reports would have you believe Koch Bros Funded Publication Criticizes – ME – on School Choice! | gadflyonthewallblog:

Detroit lawsuit stops just short of accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery | Chalkbeat

Detroit lawsuit stops just short of accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery | Chalkbeat:

Detroit lawsuit stops just short of accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery

A new lawsuit all but accuses U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery for her role in influencing Detroit schools legislation last year.

The suit, filed this month by the former Detroit school board and Detroit parents, seeks potentially millions of dollars from the billionaire Michigan philanthropist, asserting that she used campaign contributions to kill a controversial education commission.

“I am not accusing her of bribery,” said lawyer Tom Bleakley, who this month filed the suit in Detroit’s Wayne County Circuit Court. “What I do in all fairness is I set out what she has done and then I give the definition of bribery in the state of Michigan and I contend that it’s up to a jury to draw any reasonable inferences.”

The suit refers to the fierce political battle in Lansing last year over a package of bills that were designed to keep the Detroit Public Schools out of bankruptcy.

Early drafts of the bills would have created a Detroit Education Commission that would have had influence over the opening and closing of district and charter schools in the city.

The commission had broad support from community leaders in Detroit but was strongly opposed by DeVos and some charter school advocates, who feared the commission would favor traditional district schools over charters.

The DeVos-founded Great Lakes Education Project, a political organization, worked aggressively to block the commission.

In the weeks after lawmakers removed the commission from the final bills, the DeVos family poured $1.45 million dollars into the campaign coffers of Republican lawmakers who took her side in the fight — contributions that amounted to $25,000 a day for seven weeks.

“It’s up to a jury to draw any reasonable inference from the amounts as well as the timing of the money and whether it influenced any state officials,” Bleakley said.

A civil suit does not have the authority to charge anyone with a crime such as a bribery. The suit seeks financial damages from DeVos.Detroit lawsuit stops just short of accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery | Chalkbeat: