In a rare moment of candor, Nina Rees, the President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said that her organization’s “personal goal” is to make all public schools “like charter schools” that would be “schools of choice.”
If Ms. Rees and her charter trade organization have their way:
- Children would enter a lottery to attend their neighborhood school.
- There would be an appointed private board, not an elected school board.
- Teacher tenure and bargaining rights in most states would disappear.
- The school could shut down based on test scores, enrollment, or even the private board’s whim. 25% of all charters shut down in their first 5 years.
- In most states, the school could be managed by a for-profit corporation.
All of the above are the characteristics of charter schools. Every district in the nation would be a New Orleans–where schools open and close, and citizens have no voice in school governance.
That is why NPE fights so hard each year to ensure that the National Alliance does not get the funding increases it lobbies for from the federal Charter School Programs (CSP). We are so pleased to share the good news below.
The Senate Appropriations Committee Increases Title I and IDEA Funding for Fiscal Year 2024. Holds the Line on the CSP.
We told you how the House Appropriations Committee created a draconian 2024 education budget that slashed Title I funding while increasing funding for charter schools. The Senate Appropriations Committee, in contrast, approved a FY 2024 spending bill that increased Title l, IDEA and, unlike the House bill, did not cut community schools and magnet school funding. We also applaud Senators’ resistance to the charter lobby by flat funding for the Charter School Programs, rejecting the “programmatic flexibility” for charter school money included in the House bill, and supporting the Administration’s ban on CSP funding for for-profit-run charters.
A Few Discounted Rooms Left. Register for Your NPE Conference Hotel Room Today
We can’t wait to see you for our Tenth Anniversary Conference on October 28- 29. And although it may seem far away, deeply discounted hotel rooms are going fast. Over 75% are gone. Don’t wait. Register for your discounted hotel room for Friday and Saturday nights here.
And if you have not done so, register for the conference here.
The Right-Wing Think Tank That the Charter School Industry Relies On
That is the title that The Progressive gave to my summary of our new report on the CREDO at the Hoover Institution’s findings. You can read and share that article by clicking here.
We hope that you enjoy the last weeks of summer. And to all of our educators and families who are returning to our public schools — we thank you for your support of our nation’s public schools.
