Only One Major Bill Left Defending Public Education

Take Action on HB 703

Please ask your state representative to vote "yes" for HB 703. HB 703 by Rep. John Bel Edwards would prevent BESE from bypassing local school boards in approving charter schools in school districts rated “C” or better. It was approved by the House Education Committee last Wednesday. The bill will be debated by the full house on Monday, April 28. This is the only bill intended to curb the abuses of charters and vouchers that was able to get committee approval. See this article in Salon.com

HB 703 is extremely important to the survival of our public school systems because the new business model being implemented in Louisiana by a group of charters I call predatory charters allows out of state for-profit operators to raid the MFP and damage local public school systems while enriching charter management executives. These schools receive the full state and local MFP funding for each student they are able to attract without the mandate of paying the huge assessment for the unfunded liability of the retirement systems that is required of all local school boards. These charters are also allowed to hire uncertified teachers and provide them with fewer benefits. This preferential treatment allows such charters to spend our taxes on slick adds designed to attract the higher performing students in an area and allow the operators to keep a tidy percentage as profit. The whole scheme by predatory charters is aided by a hands off approach by the LDOE that allows administrators of predatory charters to expel or “counsel out” discipline problems and other low performers who then by law must be served by the regular public schools. Such a process makes the regular public schools a dumping ground for students that lower the school performance scores for regular public schools while the new charters boost their performance score. No matter how often the supporters of charters repeat the lie that charters improve student performance does not make it true. This blog has produced many posts showing that charter school success is bogus and not supported by objective data. The majority of BESE members whose votes have basically been “bought” by big business interests are determined to approve as many of these charters as possible over the objections of our local school boards.

The Louisiana big business lobby, The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) is the major force behind this new model for education in Louisiana, which over time just about guarantees the destruction of our public school system. LABI is promising major campaign contributions to legislators who will vote with them on this restructuring “deform” of public education. Why would the big business lobby in Louisiana support such a destructive system? Such a re-segregation of students by academic ability will result in many students getting short changed in their education. At the same time, the teaching profession will be stripped of salaries, status, and benefits and will lose many of the career professionals that are the backbone of any profession. This growth of predatory charters could  eventually force a collapse of the teacher retirement system at a huge cost to taxpayers and possible loss of promised benefits (see stories on the collapse of the Detroit pension systems) to dedicated teachers who depend on our retirement system. Why would LABI want such a future for Louisiana education and for the teaching profession? It does not make any sense. The only thing that can explain such a strategy by big business is that the leaders of LABI hold a deep resentment and suspicion of the teaching profession. They have no idea how hard teachers in Louisiana work and how dedicated they are to their students. LABI leaders pay themselves huge salaries and benefits to do their destructive work on education. They have a smug disregard for all public employees. They believe that entrepreneurs are entitled to make whatever profits they can extract from our public education dollars.

Governor Jindal and Superintendent John White are 100% behind this effort to privatize public education and reduce the status of teachers to that equivalent to teenage grocery store clerks. This is where teachers have no real professional training (just training in test teaching), minimal salaries, few benefits and can be fired at will for any reason). White and Jindal attorney Stafford Palmeri both testified against HB 703.

The only hope for those of us who truly believe in public education and the teaching profession is to organize and oppose these destructive efforts. It's not too late! Please send an email or telephone your state representative and ask him/her to vote for HB 703 when it goes to a floor vote this Monday. All of the other bills designed to stop the abuses of charters and vouchers have been defeated in the Education Committee. HB 703 is the only bill we have left this year to defend our public schools. The House Ed committee even killed a bill that would require voucher schools to have accountability measures similar to what we have in public schools! You can be certain that LABI will be using their money and power to try to kill HB 703 in the House and the Senate. Please do your part for public education.

Here is what I suggest all supporters of public education do as soon as possible: Get the email address for your state representative. (You can look it up by going to this link on the legislative web site). Here is the email I suggest you send. Feel free to modify it to reflect your own opinion.

Dear ______________,

I am a public school teacher (principal, parent, citizen) who lives in your district. I am requesting that you vote “yes” for HB 703. This bill is very important to maintaining local control of public education. It would prevent BESE from overruling our local school boards in the approval of charter schools. I believe that only the local voters acting through their local school boards should determine the course of education in our parish.

Sincerely,

(Your name and city)

You can also get the phone number of the Representative's district office (using that same legislative link) and dictate a short message to his/her legislative assistant asking him/her to vote for HB 703.

You can send the emails right away and make a phone call to their offices on Monday morning and you can put in phone calls to all Reps. at 225-342-6945 on the House floor on Monday afternoon.

Last Chance for Accountability for Charters and Vouchers

At its next meeting on April 16, the House Education Committee will resume its consideration of bills that would curtail abuses of the voucher and charter school programs. It is very important that supporters of our public schools ask committee members to vote "yes" for several of these bills if we are to insure the continued viability of our public school systems. Make no mistake about it. Our public schools are threatened by the continued abuses of charters and vouchers.

There is no evidence whatsoever that the addition of charter schools and voucher schools have improved the opportunities for our students in Louisiana. The original reasons given by Governor Jindal for the expansion of charters and vouchers by Act 2 of 2012 is that parents needed a way to escape "failing" public schools. However it has become clear that initial screening and monitoring of new voucher schools by the LDOE has been inadequate, allowing fly-by night-voucher schools to receive tax dollars with little accountability. The testing data and legislative audits have shown that performance and accountability of these schools is sub standard. Also, new predatory, for-profit charters are being given financial advantages to attract students away from many successful public schools. There are no restrictions on how much of our tax dollars can be diverted from student education for slick ads and for the enrichment of developers.

HB 89 by Miller would restrict funding to charter schools that are not paying their fair share of  unfunded liability for retirement costs that are mandated by the legislature to all other public schools. (See the explanation of this bill on the post below. One of the rich charter developers from Florida has a 40 foot yacht with a name ("Fishin' 4 Schools") that flaunts his exploitation of our tax dollars.

HB 184 by Havard would keep charter school owners from profiting from buildings purchased with tax dollars. This is happening sometimes even after such schools fold.

HB 701,702, and 703 by Edwards would prevent the approval of vouchers and charters by BESE in school systems that are rated "C" or above. These are not "failing" school systems.  See the explanation below.

HB 836 by Harrison requires accountability for voucher schools. (see below)

All of the above bills should be passed if we really believe in accountability. Last Wednesday, the charter and voucher proponents killed certification requirements for teachers in charters and vouchers and killed a bill by Pearson seeking to close the kindergarten loophole for charters. If this trend continues, charter and voucher schools will dominate our educational system at the expense of our public schools.

Please help me correct a misconception about some of our public schools. The supporters of school privatization have succeeded in creating a false image of "failing public schools".  I hear it repeated over and over as justification for increased privatization. This is an image based on a flawed grading system for schools. The school grading system is based entirely on student performance, not on the quality of services provided by a school. A "D" or "F" school turns out to always be a school serving high poverty at risk students. When such schools are closed or their students are allowed to go to other schools, the data shows that on average such students do not improve their performance. One added point: Herb Bassett has analyzed the student performance data from the past school year and has found that on average, low performing sub groups actually do better in "D" or "C" schools than they do in "B" or "A" schools. Herb wants to look at more data to confirm or disprove this conclusion. But if it holds true then there is no justification for providing ways for students to "escape failing schools".

Elected Superintendent Bill Advances

The House Education Committee made a good decision Wednesday by advancing two bills by Rep. Harrison that could return the position of State Superintendent to a statewide elected position. One of the bills, HB 125 would provide for a constitutional amendment allowing a vote of the people to make the position elective. The other bill, HB 127 would allow the legislature to make the position elective by a two thirds vote of both houses of the legislature. Both bills passed after a long debate in the Education Committee.

Harrison told the committee that he prefers HB 125 because constitutional amendment legislation cannot be vetoed by the governor. Jindal has made it clear that he does not support an elected state superintendent and his veto of HB 127 is considered likely should it be approved by the legislature.

This is Lottie Beebe's facebook comment on this bill and another bill by Rep. Smith to require charter schools to  give certified teachers preference for teaching positions.
https://www.facebook.com/lottiebeebe/posts/496060167164630 
"Can't believe HB 124 offered by Representative Pat Smith was rejected by the House Education Committee. Representative Smith's bill that would hold Charter schools to the same standards as traditional schools --requiring certification-- was struck down. State Superintendent of Education White spoke in opposition of the bill. White's action further supports the need to elect a state superintendent of education--a bill (HB-125) that was introduced by Representative Harrison. A state superintendent of education should embrace minimum standards that are required of our traditional public school teachers. He should advocate for certified,highly qualified educators and recommend programs that incentivize teacher education programs as fewer individuals are selecting the education profession as a career. Instead, White reinforces the concept that credentials and certifications don't matter! I spoke in support of Representative Smith's HB"
Lottie Beebe

John White opposed the Smith bill to hire certified teachers in charters. White has made it clear that he favors non-certified persons like TFA types and guys like "Lefty" Lefkowith for important education positions.

Landry Does it Again

Opponents of the two bills providing for an elected superintendent included Rep. Nancy Landry of Lafayette. She said that the present system of electing most of the members of BESE who then appoint the State Superintendent is a better plan because it prevents conflict between top education leaders. Landry apparently did not see anything wrong with the fact that the Jindal dominated BESE appointed a person who did not even have the credentials to be an assistant principal in Louisiana!  In fact when discussing the need for qualifications for the superintendent, she spoke against an amendment requiring a Masters plus 30 degree and 10 years in education supervision. Landry said "How can you expect anyone who has been in education that long to be willing to make the reforms that are needed." I wonder if she would think her doctor no longer competent to use modern medicine after only 10 years of practice?

Landry went on to made a bogus case that teacher unions would have undue influence in the election of the state superintendent because they could make huge contributions to the campaign. What a huge distortion! The truth is that rich corporate donors like Michael Bloomberg from New York and rich Louisiana businessman Lane Grigsby basically bought most of the BESE seats this last election with their huge contributions. While big business donated hundreds of thousands to several races, LAE and LFT each donated at most $2,500 to a few races. Landry tried to imply that NEA affiliate, LAE had donated huge amounts by referring to national political action contributions of NEA giving the impression that those had gone to BESE candidates. Landry's grandstanding and distortion of teacher union influence reminded many of her attacks on teachers who tried to testify two years ago against the Jindal destruction of teacher rights that were included in Act 1. Landry wanted the teachers testifying against Act 1 to tell the committee about whether they had obtained leave to go to the legislature.

It is amazing that anti public education legislators like Landry are still attempting to create an image of "evil" and powerful teacher unions holding back progress in education. They create this smokescreen  as the true powers dominated by big business continue their destruction of public education and the teaching profession! As Landry made her bogus claims and lauded the wonderful progress made by the passage of Act 1 and Act 2 (both of which have been declared unconstitutional), many of us in the audience thought about the demoralization of the teaching profession created by the VAM, the COMPASS,  the CCSS, the proliferation of predatory charters and vouchers and the damage yet to be wrought to public education by PARCC. This is what Landry sees as "great progress".

It was good to see the committee approve both Harrison bills over the objections of Landry and LABI!