In NYC and
elsewhere, the charter school lobby initially explained their rationale as
providing more “options” to students at schools in low-performing
districts. Then they began justifying
them by saying they would create
more “diversity” in mixed or gentrifying areas, and also argued that they
create more options for middle class parents who are potentially shut out of
their zoned schools because of overcrowding.
The
rationales keep expanding….just as does their rhetoric.
You know how
the privateers continue to vehemently insist that charter schools are public
schools?
In the
Louisiana court battle in which a judge just ruled vouchers illegal, an official
in their State Ed Dept. testified that giving
publicly-funded vouchers (which they euphemistically call “scholarships”) to
students to attend religious private schools should be allowed, because whatever school
they may attend, these are still “public school” students. See
this:
The
second day of the state district court trial to determine if Louisiana’s School
Choice Act (Act 2) is constitutional began with the plaintiffs calling Beth
Scioneaux to the witness stand, Scioneaux, who has worked for the Louisiana
Department of Education for 19 years, is currently the deputy superintendent
for finance and oversees the preparation of the school funding formula—also
known as the MFP….
According
to Scioneaux, “All students covered by the MFP are considered public school
students.” And, with the state Department of Education referring to vouchers as
“scholarships”, she added, “The Department position is that scholarship
students are still public school students.”
After I
tweeted about this earlier today, Jersey Jazzman immediately blogged about it. (How
great is twitter!)
Watch
out! Even as the rationales of the privateers expand into new areas, as well as their appropriation
of public space and resources, so does their rhetoric.
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