Here’s a new report out of Ohio about a large chain of online schools in that state. There are Kansas legislators who want to see charters, including online charters, expanded in Kansas. We’ve seen too many stories like this one. Do you know your legislator’s opinion on expansion of charters? “Despite its abysmal performance record, ECOT continues to expand. More than 14,500 children are currently enrolled, making ECOT the equivalent of the 10th largest school district in the state. The [Columbus] Dispatch story noted that ECOT founder William Lager has donated more than $1 million to Ohio politicians...
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Rep. Clayton summarizes Gannon decision
Rep. Stephanie Clayton has done a summary of the recent Gannon decision with translations you may find helpful. Gannon History: The Supreme Court was handed Gannon v. Kansas after two years of legal battles claiming the state had not abided by its constitutional requirement for “suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state”. In April, the Supreme Court divided the case into two components – equity and adequacy – and issued a decision requiring additional funds to make up for funding inequities between districts. The legislature complied with HB 2506 at the end of last...
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Leave a Comment Salon reports on ugly segregationist history of the charter school movement
“The driving assumption for the pro-charter side, of course, is that market competition in education will be like that for toothpaste — providing an array of appealing options. But education, like healthcare, is not a typical consumer market. Providers in these fields have a disincentive to accept or retain ‘clients’ who require intensive interventions to maintain desired outcomes—in the case of education, high standardized test scores that will allow charters to stay in business. The result? A segmented marketplace in which providers compete for the ‘good risks,’ while the undesirables get triage. By design, markets produce winners, losers...
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Leave a Comment Representative Hineman explains policy “reforms” and public education purpose
Republican Representative Don Hineman has a great newsletter explaining several of the issues in Kansas public education funding right now. Please read it and share with your friends. Some legislators see an opportunity to implement policy reforms that involve diverting public funds toward private schools or home schooling. In fact, the first step in that direction was taken with the education appropriation bill last spring. It included provision for state subsidies of corporate scholarships for private education… a significant use of public funds in Kansas for the benefit of private education. That provision was one of the primary...
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