Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/4/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down:Opting Out Talk is Not Dying DownDiane Ravitch had this recording of a weekly ed reform show from Michael Petrilli at the Fordham Institute.  In the first 7 minutes of the show, he worries about the opting out going on in NY state.  It's everything from unhappy tweets to 1,000s of parents (actually hundreds of thousands) opting the

2 by mike simpson / 15min 

Young People Matter

Young People Matter: Young People Matter The city of Baltimore gave us a lot to consider last week. From Monday’s uprising to Friday’s indictments, the news outlets were kept quite busy. In the midst of it all, I found myself mostly drawn to the treatment of young people. I was acutely aware that they were called thugs with the same venom in which blacks have been called the n-word. I was shocked

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

A chance to end the public school era - GOPlifer

A chance to end the public school era - GOPlifer: A chance to end the public school era Texas’ legislature is poised to deliver a massive gift to the state’s religious fundamentalists. The Senate has passed the boldest school privatization program in the country, a pilot program that would finally neuter the “godless” public schools. This is what happens when you place a mildly deranged radio host

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

Programs serving meals to low income families - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education)

Programs serving meals to low income families - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Updated List of Programs Serving Nutritious Meals to Low-Income FamiliesSACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that disadvantaged families in California can now find updated lists of child and adult care centers offering nutritio

by mike simpson / 3h 

“Opt out now”: The Seattle NAACP revives the legacy W.E.B Du Bois, demands an end to Common Core testing | Cloaking Inequity

“Opt out now”: The Seattle NAACP revives the legacy W.E.B Du Bois, demands an end to Common Core testing | Cloaking Inequity: “Opt out now”: The Seattle NAACP revives the legacy W.E.B Du Bois, demands an end to Common Core testing Some civil right organizations are planning to come out for more testing in a letter circulating in DC this very moment. We must organize locally against Pearson and the

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

To Privatize or Not to Privatize

To Privatize or Not to Privatize: To Privatize or Not to PrivatizeBy Victoria M. Young, Education News | Op-EdLet’s put these questions on the table: What attracts so many Americans to the idea that private companies can better run the public education system? How do they see this current trend as being best for the country?Since public education is an institution that has served us well over time

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Sweden Charter Schools' Epic Fail - urged to rethink parents' choice over schools after education decline | World news | The Guardian

Sweden urged to rethink parents' choice over schools after education decline | World news | The Guardian: Sweden urged to rethink parents' choice over schools after education declineOECD recommends comprehensive reform including revised school choice arrangements and more effective regulation Sweden has been urged to halt the steep decline in the international ranking of its schools by taking acti

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Charter choices resegregate schools, advocates say

Charter choices resegregate schools, advocates say: Charter choices resegregate schools, advocates say NEWARK, Del. -- Charter schools shouldn't be able to give enrollment preference to students who live within five miles of their campus because doing so is leading to resegregation, some lawmakers and advocates argue.If a charter school has more applicants than seats, Delaware law currently allows

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Schools Matter: Divide and Conquer: The Philadelphia Story

Schools Matter: Divide and Conquer: The Philadelphia Story: Divide and Conquer: The Philadelphia Story Leading Philadelphia mayoral candidates Anthony Williams and James KenneyEveryone concerned about corporate education reform and the influence of various venture “philanthropists” in their drive to privatize public schools should be following the Democratic primary on May 19th for the next mayor

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

PAA opposes Common Core, PARCC and SBAC | Parents Across America

PAA opposes Common Core, PARCC and SBAC | Parents Across America:  Parents Across America opposes Common Core, PARCC and SBACParents call for an immediate moratorium on CCSS/PARCC/SBACAfter extensive research and discussion with our membership, Parents Across America (PAA) has taken a position against the Common Core State Standards and the related tests, called the PARCC and SBAC. PAA calls for a

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

Teacher Appreciation Discounts and Freebies 2015 - A Frugal Chick

Teacher Appreciation Discounts and Freebies 2015 - A Frugal Chick: Teacher Appreciation Discounts and Freebies 2015May 4, 2015 by Laura 1 CommentTeacher Appreciation week is traditionally the first week in May (unless your school does something different).  We have not seen nearly the deals this year that we have in the past but there is a nice ongoing list of deals on the bottom of this post.  Ho

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

Education World: Teacher Appreciation Week: Ideas

Education World: Teacher Appreciation Week: Ideas: Sixty-Five Ways to Recognize Teachers During Teacher Appreciation Week and All Year LongAre you searching for new ways to show your teachers how much you appreciate their efforts? Principals shared some things they have done to show their appreciation.What are you doing to recognize staff members at your school during this year's celebration of Te

2 by mike simpson / 8h 

PTA Teacher Appreciation Week - For Parents - National PTA

PTA Teacher Appreciation Week - For Parents - National PTA: PTA Teacher Appreciation WeekTeachers play a key role in student success and sometimes a simple “thanks” is all a teacher needs to feel valued. Take the time to celebrate your students’ teachers during 2015 PTA Teacher Appreciation Week May 4-8.How You Can Show AppreciationPTA Teacher Appreciation Week is the perfect time to personally th

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

NEA - National Teacher Day - #ThankATeacher for National Teacher Appreciation Week

NEA - National Teacher Day: National Teacher Day, May 5, 2015900Thank a Teacher during National Teacher Week and You Could Win a $100 VISA Gift Card to Give Your Favorite Educator!Teachers give us so much. And though we know we can’t ever thank them enough, we can take a moment during National Teacher Week to share our appreciation for the special educators in our lives.Join NEA and the National P

6 by mike simpson / 8h 

Celebrating National Charter Schools Week: You Can't Make this Stuff Up Part 1 #CharterSchoolsWeek

 Celebrating National Charter Schools Week: You Can't Make this Stuff Up Part 1 THE ISSUES:Part 2 Coming Soon!

3 by mike simpson / 8h 

Let the real experts determine how to assess students with disabilities

Individualized Education Plan For Students with Disabilities: Let the real experts determine how to assess students with disabilitiesMay 4, 2015 by LilyCategories: General, I just had to say thisTags: IEPs, individualized education plans, standardized testLast year, I had the privilege of meeting Andrea Rediske. Andrea’s late son, Ethan, was born with brain damage. He had cerebral palsy and was bl

by mike simpson / 9h 

NYC Public School Parents: John Oliver features the Pineapple on his takedown of standardized testing

NYC Public School Parents: John Oliver features the Pineapple on his takedown of standardized testing: John Oliver features the Pineapple on his takedown of standardized testingCheck out last night's hilarious take-down of the insanity of standardized testing in this country by John Oliver; including the infamous"Hare and the Pineapple" passage, which was  part of the NY 8th grade ELA ex

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Schools Matter: California Parent Shares Excellent Opt Out Information

Schools Matter: California Parent Shares Excellent Opt Out Information: California Parent Shares Excellent Opt Out InformationLinkLiberty is the freedom to exercise our constitutional rights and not be bullied. State assessments are voluntary. In California, the right to opt out of standardized testing is a parental right guaranteed by Ed. Code 60615 which says, “Notwithstanding any other provisio

12 by mike simpson / 9h 

Veteran teachers calling it a career | The Columbus Dispatch

Veteran teachers calling it a career | The Columbus Dispatch: Veteran teachers calling it a careerChanging pension, testing requirements discourage educators from continuing in classroom Ohio teachers have been heading to the exits in large numbers in recent years, propelled by changes in the state’s teacher-pension program.Leaders of the State Teachers Retirement System anticipate another uptick

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

At NYSUT convention, members blame Cuomo | Capital New York

At NYSUT convention, members blame Cuomo | Capital New York: At NYSUT convention, members blame CuomoBUFFALO—During her annual “state of the union” speech, New York State United Teachers president Karen Magee saluted an instigator who motivated the organization’s 600,000 members over the last year.“Of course, we had some unexpected help in mobilizing members,” Magee said on Friday night, addressin

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Outside Influence: Despite big spending, vouchers remain banned in Tennessee - The Commercial Appeal

Outside Influence: Despite big spending, vouchers remain banned in Tennessee - The Commercial Appeal: Outside Influence: Despite big spending, vouchers remain banned in Tennessee After years of lobbying, millions of dollars from in-state and out-of-state advocacy groups and the support of the governor and other legislative leaders, school vouchers are still banned in Tennessee.Republican lawmakers

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Play of the Day: Barack Obama Wants At Least One Child Left Behind - Oversight - GovExec.com

Play of the Day: Barack Obama Wants At Least One Child Left Behind - Oversight - GovExec.com: Play of the Day: Barack Obama Wants At Least One Child Left Behind Late-night television hosts were still processing Vermont Senator Bernie Sandersentrance into the 2016 race over the weekend. Real Time's Bill Maher joked about Sanders' socialist affiliation and his unique biography, while The Tonight Sho

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association: Justice Alito’s Invitation Accepted | ACS

Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association: Justice Alito’s Invitation Accepted | ACS: Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association: Justice Alito’s Invitation AcceptedMore Legal Attacks on Teachersby Ann C. Hodges, Professor of Law, University of Richmond School of LawIn a blog post following the Supreme Court’s decision last term in Harris v. Quinn, I predicted that the constitutionality of

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Standardized Testing (HBO)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Standardized Testing (HBO)American students face a ridiculous amount of testing. John Oliver explains how standardized tests impact school funding, the achievement gap, how often kids are expected to throw up.

29 by mike simpson / 19h 

Fraud, Waste, and Lies: Charter Schools Cheating Communities Out of Millions of Dollars | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Fraud, Waste, and Lies: Charter Schools Cheating Communities Out of Millions of Dollars | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community: Fraud, Waste, and Lies: Charter Schools Cheating Communities Out of Millions of DollarsNew report warns that, due to lack of oversight, 'vast majority of the fraud perpetrated by charter officials will go undetected' Accepting and solici

45 by mike simpson / 20h 

Charter school dissolves amid charges of nepotism, fiscal mismanagement, enrollment fraud - News - recordnet.com - Stockton, CA

Charter school dissolves amid charges of nepotism, fiscal mismanagement, enrollment fraud - News - recordnet.com - Stockton, CA: Charter school dissolves amid charges of nepotism, fiscal mismanagement, enrollment fraudSTOCKTON — Renew Virtual Academies, a charter school in the New Jerusalem School District, has been dissolved and its roughly 80 students absorbed into other sites amid allegations o

by mike simpson / 20h 

WANTED: Teachers — Education’s revolutionary uprising | The Underdog's Advocate

WANTED: Teachers — Education’s revolutionary uprising | The Underdog's Advocate: WANTED: Teachers — Education’s revolutionary uprising by Ryan B. Jackson, Ed.DIf April showers bring May flowers then what, in turn, do these undeniable symbols of spring really bring? For the answer, look no further than your community school, job fair or university graduation ceremony: New Teachers.Spring sets the s

by mike simpson / 23h hide  //  save

My Position on the Senate ESEA Reauthorization Draft | deutsch29

My Position on the Senate ESEA Reauthorization Draft | deutsch29: My Position on the Senate ESEA Reauthorization DraftI have read (and reread certain sections of) the entire 601-page Senate reauthorization draft of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), written by Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray and named the Every Child Achieves  Act of 2015.I have also read the 29 a

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/3/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP - CATCH UP ON TODAY'S POST 5/3/15Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMCommon Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?: Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) Fellow Connecticut educate advocate Wendy Lecker has been one of the most powerful and import

3 by mike simpson / 1d 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down:

Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down

Diane Ravitch had this recording of a weekly ed reform show from Michael Petrilli at the Fordham Institute.  In the first 7 minutes of the show, he worries about the opting out going on in NY state.  It's everything from unhappy tweets to 1,000s of parents (actually hundreds of thousands) opting their kids out and hey, what does it all mean?

He and his co-host say they just can't tell exactly why parents are doing this.  They opine that it can't be because Common Core testing is costing so much the arts are being cut (surmising that "affluent" schools just can't be cutting the arts).

They fret over this "big deal now" and what if it spreads nationwide? He says:

If this goes national, this whole school reform thing is in serious trouble."

Sorry, Mike, the genie is out of the bottle.

Speaking of Ravitch, she also has news from Minneapolis via the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The newest math scores for Minneapolis South High School’s 11th-graders plunged more than 25 percentage points compared with 2013. At Southwest High School, scores dropped 22 points over the same period.

The dramatic fall off at two of Minneapolis’ best schools is not because of a crisis of academic achievement, but rather historic numbers of top students who are exercising a little-known right to opt out of standardized tests.

She gives several reasons why parents are opting out (really, it's no mystery but the corporate ed reformers make it sound like it is). 

Parents know that the absence of transparency by the test-makers in not in the interest of their children and that the tests are designed to fail the majority of students because their passing score is set unrealistically high. Some parents understand that the tests provide little or no diagnostic information about their children (most Common Core tests provide NO diagnostic information, just a score.) Some are protesting the Common Core,  some are protesting the federal takeover of their state and their local schools. Some are protesting the tests themselves.

The NY Times also has a good debate in Room for Debate between Patricia Levesque who works for Jeb Bush's "Foundation for Excellence in Education" and Kevin Welner, the director of the National Education Policy Center.

I made a comment where I call out one of Ms. Levesque's paragraphs.

 "We do this by determining what children need to know, not what we think they can learn based on their circumstances. We then measure their progress and hold adults in the system accountable for doing their job. "

And there you have it - testing's not-so-subtle backstory.

That first sentence is a backhanded way to try to make anyone who 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down:

I'm Not Running for Seattle School Board

I appreciate all the encouragement and offers of help to run for the Seattle School Board but I have concluded that it's just not the right time in my life to do so.

It's bittersweet to say no because I believe that I know this district and I care deeply about public education.  I would have worked my hardest to get elected and, if elected, would have become part of a team - the School Board - to create better academic outcomes for all students in public education.

My husband always wanted me to run.  But he was my biggest supporter, my sounding board and a shoulder to lean on and it's just too soon to do this without him.

Naturally, I will try to interview all the candidates, do my research and come up with my best recommendations.  I will try to announce all candidate forums so you can find at least one chance to meet and hear the candidates for School Board speak.  (Please let me know about any in your neighborhood - I don't want to miss any of them.) http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2015/05/im-not-running-for-seattle-school-board.html

Young People Matter

Young People Matter:

Young People Matter

 The city of Baltimore gave us a lot to consider last week. From Monday’s uprising to Friday’s indictments, the news outlets were kept quite busy. In the midst of it all, I found myself mostly drawn to the treatment of young people. I was acutely aware that they were called thugs with the same venom in which blacks have been called the n-word. I was shocked in the sea of people (both within and beyond the black lives matter movement) that levied a criticism about the improper way in which the youth channeled their anger (as though uprisings throughout our country’s history have not served as a catalyst to progress). Mainly, I was frustrated at the lack of awareness in how adults have influenced, by their negligence and their ill-conceived conceptions of "student achievement," a generation of disabled and impotent leaders.

Today's post illustrates this point... a point that indicts adults--- teachers and school leaders; parents and politicians; and preachers and civil rights leaders. To do this, I continue my conversation started last weekregarding the film “Selma.” While I originally wrote this piece, as part two to the first, I am amazed at how it naturally fits my thoughts surrounding Monday’s revolt and how it is a timely contribution to a needed conversation about schooling and youth leadership.

Returning to Selma
As represented by the movie Selma, key players in the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were located at the ground level. Yes, there was President Johnson who signed it into law, but it was the people most disenfranchised that served as the catalyst for change. In the movie, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC ), led by Dr. King, partnered with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC ), a field-based initiative led by students (including John Lewis), to increase the public’s awareness that black people were being denied access to voting.

Looking at Martin Luther King, Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, and John Lewis, I began to reflect on the competencies needed for them to understand sociopolitical problems, for them to own their personal part in the solution, and for them to muster up the courage, the conviction, the strategy and influence to execute change. In short, what were the skills and dispositions needed to lead a movement? And, what role did their K-12 education help them to develop these skills?

Lost Treasures of a Segregated Schooling System 
Prior to the desegregation of public schools, black students were primarily taught by black teachers (and non-black teachers specifically committed to them). In this space, schooling was a community experience, where people living and experiencing life together also came together to teach and to learn. As a result, there was a distinct pedagogical approach. Milner said that black teachers during this era taught students for integration, so students could possess the capacities needed to work, live and prosper right alongside of their white counterparts. Delpit ’s discussion on power codes helps to showcase the value of the segregated era. She delineated instruction as a cultural tool of power in which those with power have established the rules of what is and what is not acceptable. Teachers in segregated schools understood these codes of power and based their instruction on empowering students with this knowledge. As stated by Ware, a teacher in segregated schools “emphasized the importance of education for political and economic success” (p. 429).

In general (and of course there are some significant exceptions to these findings), students were not limited to contemporary education standards measured by high-stakes testing. And, they were not limited to a deficit based identity due to being taught by teachers who possessed a mono-cultural lens of right and wrong. Unfortunately, however, this is the experience of many black students (as well as brown, red, and poor white and yellow students) in today’s K-12 learning environment. In the midst of a climate where everyone is championing reform, the real deal is that very few reform- driven schools are truly reformed. Why? Because many of today’s schools, in the gross decline in the number of black teachers employed, fail to see the relevant relationship that schooling has with the sociopolitical needs of disenfranchised communities, as those schools did in the segregated era. Today’s schooling climate treats minority and low-income learners as objects that need to be managed and controlled to achieve a set of outcomes that has very little to do with living, learning and leading in the 21st century (Dye, In Progress). 

Baltimore’s Youth Uprising
The young people of Baltimore, in their revolt against the death of Freddie Gray, were categorized as being immoral… as being wrong… as being ignorant. There were those such as Mayor Stephany Rawlings-Blake who said that it was idiotic to destroy one’s community (as though the place in which these young people live truly exists as a commune of safety and dignity). There were others who argued that nonviolent protests are the moral means to promote change (as though the nonviolent protests in Ferguson and New York garnished justice for Michael Brown and Eric Garner).

I am not here to condone violence but I am also not here to condemn the young people either! As adults, we have failed to equip them with the tools necessary to lead… to take a stand and have a real impact in their world. Instead, we have treated them as consumers of a set of literacies that will give them minimal capacity to address the social barriers impeding their true progress. As adults, we have treated them as objects that must comply with a set standards that has more to do with upholding the humanity of someone else than it does with upholding their own humanity. Case in point, many people publically support the parental pounding of a 17 year old on national television (calling her the “Mother of the Year”) because we believe a child’s true position is one that is inherently without voice, dignity, honor, or power.

Our current climate of schooling (and parenting) does not see the true value of young people. It is structured to produce young people who consume and comply… two conditions located nowhere near the transforming work of Dr. King and the civil rights coalition. Our schools are primarily based on a banking model where students take in and then they are rewarded on how pure and exact they give it back. Schools serving the politically disadvantaged don’t give students an opportunity to apply their knowing to real problems… to create meaningful solutions… to generate new ways of knowing.

This is what Baltimore’s children were trying to convey last Monday. To me, their actions showed that they want a way to make a difference. They want a way to matter! In the absence of having their socio-emotional intelligence utilized in their K-12 academic training, what we saw was an explosion of a bottle neck desire for change -- all without having adequate resources (such as validation, support and training) to successfully serve as change agents.

Conclusion and Considerations
Baltimore’s uprising is a cry for a different way to treat minority and low-income students. They need schools Young People Matter:

Critical Dyegest

Angela Dye's blog is part of our Purple Wisconsin project. Dye loves to ask tough questions and critically examine social-structural systems that impact individual development and individual responsibility.

A chance to end the public school era - GOPlifer

A chance to end the public school era - GOPlifer:

A chance to end the public school era

 Texas’ legislature is poised to deliver a massive gift to the state’s religious fundamentalists. The Senate has passed the boldest school privatization program in the country, a pilot program that would finally neuter the “godless” public schools. This is what happens when you place a mildly deranged radio host in a state’s most powerful elected office.

Sending public school students to private religious schools may not seem like a ticket to a well-educated citizenry prepared for 21^st century demands. That’s ok. Those are not the goals of this program. Legislators are looking for ways to further cut taxes and rescue Texas children from the godless influence of science, history, and empirical knowledge.

There’s nothing particularly revolutionary about school vouchers. Thirteen states plus DC already have programs that let students attend private institutions with public funding under some limited circumstances. What makes Texas’ proposal special is its ambitious scope and its potential to remove the last major edifice of public capital in Texas.

Texas’ privatization proposal is based on two separate bills. One bill creates a right to attend private schools funded by vouchers. The second bill creates the funding structure.

Tea Party Senator Donna Campbell is the sponsor of SB 276. That bill establishes a right for students to opt out of public schools and take with them a voucher that funds their private education. Then it starts getting weird.

Campbell’s plan will only pay 60% of what the state was spending for that student’s public education. Common sense finally triumphs here over the demands of pointy-headed accountants. Want cheaper schools? Give them less money.

Campbell’s bill also works another little bit of magic. No government money will be spent on the program. Kinda…

Her bill stipulates that “Money from the available school fund and federal funds may not be used for reimbursement under this section.” So how are these vouchers going to be funded? Students aren’t the only people who would be opting out of the public school system under this program.

Campbell’s SB 276 has a twin. Funding for this program is delivered by SB 642, sponsored by Houston’s own Senator Paul Bettencourt. His bill creates an unusual new private entity called an “Educational Assistance Organization” (EAO).

An EAO would be a private charity with a twist. Any “taxable entity” making a donation to the EAO could get a full credit for their donation against their franchise tax liability, up to 50% of their total tax liability. All funding for private school vouchers would have to come from an EAO.

Bettencourt’s bill is what makes this approach truly radical. These two bills would not merely privatize schools. They would privatize the school funding system as well, creating an entire parallel world free from the liberal horrors of a real education infrastructure. Taxpayers could simply exit the existing public school funding system in favor of their own private school funding entities which they control entirely.

Scope of the program is limited under these two bills, at least for now, in order to make this a “pilot program.” Current versions of the bills would cap the total funding for the state’s EAO’s to $100 million. EAO’s would only be allowed to grant vouchers (the bill calls them “scholarships”) to students whose families earn less than about $60,000 a year. The program would not extend into rural school districts.

EAO’s would not be able to designate which kinds of schools they would fund, but that constraint comes with a Texas-sized loophole. There are virtually no constraints or review over which students the EAO might select for scholarships. What is blocked by one hand is allowed by the other.

So, let’s review. Texas’ proposed school reform would, at least on a limited scale for now, allow taxpayers to opt out of paying taxes to public schools in order to direct their contributions to EAO’s. Those entities would decide which students to fund in private schools, with no constraints on sending students to religious academies and no oversight on which students they fund.

If expanded, this offers Texas’ religious fundamentalists a huge achievement. They could finally destroy their most hated public institution – the schools. This proposal would gradually starve the public schools of their revenue stream, further cutting the amount that the state pays after years of careful under-funding. Meanwhile it would leave the public schools trapped under their existing infrastructure and mandates, a trap that would finally finish off the beast.

Undersized vouchers would fail to deliver enough funding to support a competent private education. Affluent families would get to take the money and run, receiving a state subsidy which they could combine with their family’s own contributions to pay for a reasonably good private education. Middle income families who can’t afford to pay above the voucher value would be left in the lurch, trapped between a collapsing public school system and a collection of cheap, storefront Christian madrassas.

A new generation of young people will be spared from learning about their history or discovering anything about the natural world that might challenge their religious assumptions. They’ll be ignorant, bigoted, and reliably pious, which this legislature will see as a big fat win.

The roots of this concept are perhaps even worse than the shape of the plan itself. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision striking down racial discrimination in schools, Georgia passed a constitutional amendment in 1954 allowing their legislature to privatize the entire school system. They never took that radical step, but the law remained in place until Georgia introduced a new constitution in 1982.

One of the architects of Texas’ current plan is Arthur Laffer, a man who has manufactured a successful career out of being wrong about everything. He became famous for formulating what George Bush, Sr. famously called “voodoo economics.” Laffer most recently used his policy voodoo to rip the bottom out of Kansas’ state finances. People are still listening to this guy because results don’t matter in politics.

It isn’t clear whether the current proposals can gain enough support to pass in this session. The Senate has already approved the plan, but its future in the House is uncertain.

What is clear is that Texas’ experiment with radical Neo-Confederate government is reaching a crucially painful stage and there is no relief in sight. This disastrous and bizarre proposal may fail this year, but there is nothing to stop it from emerging again and again until it, something even worse, finally passes. Elections have consequences and there are no signs of Texas elections delivering sanity any time soon.

More links and comments are at the GOPLifer Blog.