In a brand new study just released this month, parents responded that their top choices for reforming their children's schools would be:
 
#1 choice:  Smaller class sizes
#2 choice:  Increasing technology in schools

Tennessee Parents know that data from this study will likely be "cherry-picked" to show support of reform, but if you notice the suspicious way the questions are worded and you research the organization that produced this study (Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice), you'll see that this study and paper were produced to further that organization's agenda to increase vouchers & charter schools.  (Those are 2 things that Tennessee parents do not want).

It is VERY TELLING that, even despite wording questions to get favorable results, they couldn't make charters or vouchers be the #1, #2, or even #3 choice from the people they surveyed!  How embarrassing for the Friedman Foundation!  Their own study and report didn't support their agenda.

Their report even has several pages on how to best phrase questions to get "favorable" results.  Don't believe us?  Read it for yourself.  Click HERE to see the report on SCHOOL CHOICE SIGNALS: Research Review and Survey Experiments by Dick M. Carpenter II, PH.D. January 2014
 

What Tennessee parents want:

• PUBLIC SCHOOLS: We want quality, adequately-funded neighborhood public schools with smaller, manageable class sizes.
   
• EQUALITY FOR ALL STUDENTS: We want every child, rich or poor, to attend quality neighborhood schools with real teachers, small class sizes, strong curriculum, great music opportunities, rich art programs, sports, support services, and safe buildings.

• LOCAL CONTROL:  We want to elect our local school boards to represent our public schools, and we want our local school boards to have control 
      ...not the TN Department of Education,
      ...not the Federal Department of Education,
      ...and not charter school owners.
   
• AN ELECTED COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AND ELECTED TN BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS:  To be held accountable to the people they serve, and not to please the person who appointed them.

Tennessee Parents do NOT want:

• CHARTER SCHOOLS: We do not want our tax dollars given to educational entrepreneurs to gamble with our children's educations either through charter schools or virtual schools.  We want to continue to elect our school boards to represent our communities. 
• VOUCHERS:  TN parents are smart enough to realize that the quality private schools will not accept vouchers, and that the mediocre and poor private schools will grow in number but continue to produce mediocre or poor results for students.  This is what has happened in every city and state that allows vouchers.  It will happen in TN if vouchers pass.
• COMMON CORE:  The joint Resolution affirming TN's academic sovereignty is worthless.  If legislators were serious, it would be in the form of a Bill.  Stop blaming the curriculum, a botched implementation, and the Governor... get Common Core out of our State.
  

Michelle Rhee seems to have her hands firmly around Tennessee Education policy as this legislative session begins. Rhee’s group, StudentsFirst, contributed more than $200,000 (or was it more?) in state legislative races in 2012 and they’re getting what they paid for. In short, Rhee’s top policy priorities are now the top priorities of the legislature and Governor Haslam. Here’s a rundown of these policies — all very much en vogue among the education reform elite. None particularly useful in moving Tennessee schools forward.

Vouchers
Or, as some like to call them, “Opportunity Scholarships.” After the Governor’s Task Force on Vouchers came up short of clear recommendations for a voucher scheme, Governor Haslam appeared to cool to the idea. He noted instead that legislators may bring forth a plan and he’d work with that. Then, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush came to town in early January and immediately following the Governor’s public event with Bush, Haslam announced he’d be introducing his own version of a voucher scheme. Never mind that the four largest school districts — the ones most likely to be impacted by a voucher plan — have all expressed opposition. And never mind that many private schools have indicated that they won’t accept the vouchers. Haslam has seen the light as shown to him by Bush and Rhee and he’ll now be moving to divert state education dollars to private schools. This in a state that ranks near the bottom in per pupil spending on public education.

Charters
Tennessee already has among the most liberal charter school laws in the country. Any student in any district that has charter schools may attend a charter school. The local school boards do, however, have control over authorizing a charter to operate in their district and control over closing charters if they are failing. All seemed to be going well with charters opening and growing in Memphis and Nashville. And then there was Great Hearts vs. Metro Nashville. While the Metro Nashville School Board approved several new charters in 2012 and has been fairly aggressive about recruiting charter operators to town, the Board rejected the charter application of Arizona-based Great Hearts Academy. They did so over concerns about diversity and legitimate questions over whether the school would truly meet the community’s needs. The State Board of Education over-ruled the Metro Board and directed them to reconsider. A new school board was elected. And the new board ALSO rejected Great Hearts. So, the state department of education, headed-up by Rhee’s ex-husband, Kevin Huffman, hit Metro with a $3.4 million penalty — withholding BEP funds the district was counting on. Now, Great Hearts is lobbying for a state charter authorizer — a state board that would be unelected and unaccountable — to be created. This charter authorizer would allow charter operators to bypass local school boards and be authorized to operate a charter in a district whether or not the locally elected school board wanted it.

Parent Trigger
The “parent trigger” concept is the idea that if a school is failing and 50% +1 of the parents in that school vote to do so, the parents can convert the school to a charter. Those parents may then “run” the school and hire/fire faculty and obtain other budgetary controls. This may sound like a reasonable proposition. However, in practice, it is a disaster. A school in Indiana recently “pulled the trigger” and the parents were stunned to discover the lack of available resources. The parents presented a list of demands including iPads for all students. The Board replied that in order for that demand to be met, a number of faculty would have to be let go. Parent trigger can also be used by sketchy charter operators to gain a foothold into a school. Rhee is of course behind this measure as well.

Each of these efforts appeals to policymakers because none require any new investment in Tennessee schools. The idea is that we already have money out there, and that if we just did these “new, cool things” we’d have better schools. They allow politicians to claim to be pro-education without making the hard decisions that would lead to meaningful new investments in our schools. Moreover, each of these policies has potentially disastrous effects on an already struggling school system. Stay tuned as the 2013 legislative session advances and these policies gain traction.

This was originally printed last year by Andy Spears in the online Tennessee Education Report. (VOUCHERS, CHARTERS, AND TRIGGERS — OH MY! A PREVIEW OF EDUCATION LEGISLATION IN THE 2013 TENNESSEE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, January 28, 2013) Click HERE to read other informative articles by this knowledgeable Tennessean.

• How is it legal to funnel tax dollars for education to private schools, especially if they are religious in scope?
  
  
• Would all religious schools be eligible?
  
  
• What if the private schools don't do Common Core or state tests?
  
  
• How can private schools really serve children in poverty if the scholarship does not cover other private school expenses such as food, books, uniforms and extra curricular fees?
  
  
• Do these scholarships give access to any child that would like to try private school, such as English language learners or the disabled?
  
  
• How do equitable scholarships align with private school's selective admission and exclusionary practices?
  
  
• Will private schools group students by ability to remediate students who are behind grade level, perpetuating the isolation from private school peers?
  
  
• How will vouchers really change the limited choices of low-income families who cannot drive their children to school?
  
  
• Does attending a private school really close the achievement gap?
  
  
• Do parents understand that private school is not like public school, held accountable to tax payers?
  
  
• Have private schools really studied the impact vouchers will have on their student populations and potential government oversight?
  
  
• If I am in a rural community with no private schools why should I care about vouchers? And why should my taxes go to pay for urban kids to attend private school?
  
  
• Why are vouchers so important that the Walton Foundation would give $6 million dollars to a lobbying group called Alliance for School Choice to convince Tennessee they need vouchers? What do the Walton's get when they buy in to change our State's laws?
  
  
• Will private schools use standardized test to show they are providing value and prove they are making student progress?
  
  
• As money follows the child and tuition increases, will our tax burden increase to pay for private school services?
  
  

Up to this point, two pro-voucher camps exist.  One that sees vouchers are a way to allow kids in poverty access to private school education through voucher scholarships.  And another sees it as the ultimate school choice to take appointed education tax dollars as a tax credit and use it to close the financial gap that excludes middle class families' access to private education.  On the surface, this is an interesting idea.  But, as we dig deeper the voucher proposal looks troubling and brings more questions than solutions.

If our state is truly providing quality public education, as mandated by our constitution, we do not need these schemes to funnel education dollars away from public schools.  And if our state is not providing an adequate public education system then they should be held accountable to deliver an education system that works for all children.  Not just for those who can choose.

Just say what vouchers really are: affluent welfare engineered to drain our public schools of capable students and engaged families...further isolating the most vulnerable children in our society. Vouchers are a cop-out to avoid truly providing access to quality public education for all children.


Voucher failure in the other states that have vouchers:

Indiana: Voucher & charter school results are worse than public schools.  The "results should undercut the argument that we need charter schools and vouchers so children can “escape” failing public schools." (Click HERE to read more)  

Louisiana:  Nearly half of Louisiana's voucher students attend D or F rated schools (Click HERE to read the facts)  Some have learned how to "game" the system in Louisiana (Click HERE to read about the fraud) 

Wisconsin:  After more than 20 years of vouchers, the voucher schools have performed the same or worse than public schools. (Click HERE to read the article)   "Two thirds of Milwaukee students using the voucher program in the city already attended private schools.  Instead of increasing mobility for low-income students, the program primarily served to perpetuate status quo."  (Click HERE to read another article).  

North Carolina:  A Christian voucher school will not admit students who are gay or who come from gay families.  Is this even legal? (Click HERE to read)

Washington D.C.:  According to an investigation by the U.S. General Accounting Office:  D.C. voucher program is riddled with problems, lacking oversight to ensure participating private schools are physically safe or academically accredited.  (Click HERE to read the report)


Sneaky, sneaky:  Click HERE to read how vouchers get a foothold in states by claiming to be for the poorest students, but the movement continually pushes toward its goal of a universal voucher system, and consequentially strangles what were once strong public school districts.  

Cha-ching:  Click HERE to see how much $$$ is being poured into Tennessee to make our state the next voucher victim state.

Gallup poll:  70% of Americans oppose the use of public funds for religious or private schools.  No voucher program has EVER been endorsed by voters.  (Click HERE to read those important facts)