No New Charter Schools – NAACP Draws Line in the Sand

[yurbud]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by In_The_Wind (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Common Dreams

“…the NAACP opposes the privatization of public schools and/or public subsidizing or funding of for-profit or charter schools…”

“…the NAACP calls for full funding and support of high quality free public education for all children…”

The resolution goes on to oppose tax breaks to support charter schools and calls for new legislation to increase charter school transparency. Moreover, charters should not be allowed to kick students out for disciplinary reasons.

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The pro-charter story has been told by deep pocketed investors such as the Koch Brothers and the Walton Family Foundation. But the idea that a separate parallel school system would somehow benefit black and brown children goes against history and common sense.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/07/30/no-new-charter-schools-naacp-draws-line-sand

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If charter schools are supposed to help inner city minority kids, why did the NAACP just call for a national moratorium on them?

Maybe because charter schools are more about diverting public education spending into the pockets of the already wealthy than helping kids of any race.

The NAACP got this one right. Unfortunately, the leaders of both major parties let hedge fund managers dictate public education policy instead of parents, teachers, and academics.

[Chasstev365]

1. Good for the NAACP!

[bekkilyn]

2. Thank goodness! I am so sick of...

...taxpayer money being used for segregated and religious private schools that pretend to be public schools at the cost of the real public schools. Sadly, both political parties have been guilty of supporting this abominable practice. It only feeds in to so-called conservatives draining away funding from public schools in order to cripple them and then "prove" they are failing. Charters need to be recognized as being the private institutions they really are and tax money needs to go back to the real public schools 100%.

Yay NAACP!

This has been a BIG issue I've had with the Democratic party (as well as Republican party.)

[yurbud]

5. We need to convince Hillary not to appoint another corporate reformer as Ed Sec

[bekkilyn]

9. Agreed. Arne Duncan was a disaster. (nt)

[63splitwindow]

3. YES!!! The public school system is what builds a society where all have equal opportunity. A BEDROCK

of American society.

[Hugin]

4. Kick

[Old Union Guy]

6. "High quality" free education. Sounds like a plan.

How do they propose to get there?

[Igel]

10. First they have to define it.

Is it education offered or what the students take?

If you say, "High quality education must result in high levels of achievement for all students," you're NCLB's evil twin--which is scary, because NCLB was already pretty bad. The problem is that half of that achievement doesn't depend on the schools, and one component of that "high quality" education is trying to remediate that half not dependent on schools.

[Augiedog]

7. About damn time

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

8. K & Mothafuckin' R

[MichMan]

11. Not sure I agree with this part

"Moreover, charters should not be allowed to kick students out for disciplinary reasons."

Doesn't it depend on what they did that required disciplinary action to be taken? While zero tolerance is way overzealous, I would think there is some type of behavior that crosses the line and merits suspension. Things like use of racial epithets, sexual harassment, bullying of LGBT students etc.

[Ford_Prefect]

13. Charters are often not held to the same level of transparency or legal responsibility since they

are effectively private organizations. They typically work under different guidelines regarding student behavior, discipline, and oversight of same. The origins of this difference lie in the claim that charters require more latitude in their procedures due to the nature of their being essential alternatives to the mainstream. There may have been some truth to this idea when they were new. Since they have expanded into a corporate alternative system this seems no longer the case.

Many advocates have demanded that appropriate rules governing procedural and financial transparency, student discipline, program content and grading standards need to be applied and over seen at charter schools just as they are for public schools.

Unfortunately the Charter school industry has wealthy patrons and many friends in the state legislatures and have been successfully resisting moves to add oversight and regulation.

In some districts they operate under nearly the same rules as a public school does. However in many situations that is not the case and this has led to accusations of unfair treatment regarding discipline as well as how special needs students are handled.

There have also been numerous complaints of financial mismanagement and doubtful standards regarding the way employees and teachers are treated.

[mountain grammy]

12. Huge K & R

[63splitwindow]

14. Charter schools/voucher system equals Private Profiteers/tax money.

[MrScorpio]

15. Damn Skippy! nt