Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, October 22, 2018

ISTA: Lying Down With Dogs – Live Long and Prosper

ISTA: Lying Down With Dogs – Live Long and Prosper

ISTA: Lying Down With Dogs



The Indiana State Teachers Association is joining with Stand for Children. Why would ISTA join with an ed-reform group?

In case you don’t know, Stand for Children is a pro-ed-reform group deeply involved with the privatization of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS).
With the arrival of Oregon-based Stand For Children, Indianapolis school board elections started to take on a decidedly different tenor. Until 2010, a few thousand dollars was all that was needed to win a seat. That all changed when Stand For Children, an education reform 501(c)(4), started pouring tens of thousands of dollars into the 2012 elections. Stand’s tax return that year reported that the election of three Indianapolis school board members was a top accomplishment for the organization.
The result of this is that Indianapolis has seen school closures and disruptions led by the district superintendent…appointed by the school board purchased by Stand for Children.
Stand for Children also spent $473,172 lobbying Indiana lawmakers on Public Law 1321, which was passed in 2014. Public Law 1321 was based on a 2013 model policy drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Koch-funded member organization of corporate lobbyists and conservative state legislators who craft “model legislation” on issues important Continue reading: ISTA: Lying Down With Dogs – Live Long and Prosper