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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Ohio GOP Grovels at Feet of Fordham and ALEC | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ohio GOP Grovels at Feet of Fordham and ALEC | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ohio GOP Grovels at Feet of Fordham and ALEC

Bill Phillis writes about the GOP’s pusillanimous capitulation to its masters and is prepared to sacrifice its public schools to satisfy DC-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute and ALEC, funded by Charles Koch, the Waltons, and DeVos.
He writes:
School choice zealots seem to be driving the state education policy train
In spite of the harm being heaped on school districts due to corruption in the charter industry and the wild expansion of vouchers, the school choice zealots are in control. State officials seem powerless to establish rational Ohio education policy.
According to current media reports, the voucher “fix” being considered in the Ohio Senate, would lessen the harm to some school districts in the near term but would set the stage for a universal voucher system in the future. The local choice zealots and their big boy moneyed allies, such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Fordham Foundation, are driving policy that undercuts the very foundation of the public common school. State officials seem to cower when confronted by the choice crowd.
Time to march on Columbus.
Jan Resseger wrote to me that the “fix” is a fraud and her own integrated, mixed-income district will be devastated.
She wrote:
I noticed you forwarded the Dispatch piece as though it will help anybody.  The Ohio Senate “solution” will simply leave in place all the damage from current year.  In CH-UH we have 478 percent growth in vouchers this year.  These kids will carry those vouchers CONTINUE READING: Ohio GOP Grovels at Feet of Fordham and ALEC | Diane Ravitch's blog