1/2/17 Latest Charter School and Voucher Findings

Moody’s upgrades Massachusetts bond ratings after voters defeated a charter school expansion initiative. http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/moodys_no_vote_on_charter_scho.html

Ten Reasons Why School Choice is No Choice in the Gadflyonthewallblog. https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/top-10-reasons-school-choice-is-no-choice/

An article by the respected Arthur Camins, Individual Choice Is No Substitute for Democracy http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-camins/individual-choice-is-no-s_b_12084020.html?  To quote Camins: The problem with publicly-funded charter schools goes far beyond the lack of oversight, transparency, and accountability. Most fundamentally, they are an assault on democracy. Individual choice is no substitute for democratic governance. In addition, they drain limited resources from remaining public schools, exacerbate racial and socio-economic isolation, and undermine public investment in socially responsible solutions for all in favor of “saving” a select few.

Ed Doerr chronicles the history of voucher advocacy The Great School Voucher Fraud. Every time voucher measures have been placed on the ballot they have been defeated.  Most recently a measure sponsored by Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, in Michigan was handily defeated. https://dianeravitch.net/2016/12/03/edd-doerr-the-great-school-voucher-fraud/

Bruce Baker offers a report on the effects of charter expansion in urban districts and finds devastating fiscal effects in districts with large scale charter expansion and heavy declining enrollments. http://www.epi.org/publication/exploring-the-consequences-of-charter-school-expansion-in-u-s-cities/?mc_cid=c22114ad64&mc_eid=c2e5bac0f3