US House Appropriations Chair: Blistering Reproach to Opponents of For-Profit Charter School Regulations

by Carol Burris, Executive Director of the Network for Public Education

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, issued a blistering reproach of how “the national trade organization representing for-profit EMO’s is running a well-funded misinformation campaign” to stop the proposed regulations of the U.S. Department of Education to provide more accountability and transparency in the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP).

Although Chairwoman DeLauro does not mention the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) by name, that organization has been leading the campaign telling President Biden and Secretary Cardona to #backoff. “In 2019, the NACPS Hall of Fame winner was Fernando Zulueta, the founder and owner of the largest for-profit chain in the United States, Academica. Zulueta served on their board for years,” according to Carol Burris, the Executive Director of the Network for Public Education. NPE issued a report last year on the for-profit charter industry, entitled “Chartered for Profit: The Hidden World of Charter Schools Operated for Financial Gain.”

Burris continues, “The campaign of misinformation waged by NACPS at defeating sensible reforms in CSP regulations has been relentless. Wild and untruthful claims made include that the Department does not believe rural charter schools and culturally affirming charter schools should exist, that public school districts would need to approve new charter schools, and that the regulations would override state law. Each of these outrageous false claims are intended to do one thing–frighten parents who send their children to charter schools to oppose the regulations in order to ensure that for-profit run charters and white flight charters can still get CSP funding.”

According to the Chair’s press release, which you can find here, this is not the first time that the same organization has used misinformation in order to protect the for-profit charter industry. The “trade organization” , presumably the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, led a similar campaign of misinformation last summer, according to Chair DeLauro.

Posted in Uncategorized.

4 Comments

  1. What do you recommend we do? Is there a way to shorten it and submit to the Sun as a guest columnist? The League should have a regular presence in the Sun instead of the USA inserts of no local value.

  2. I have not seen that the results of a large majority of charter schools are an improvement over our public schools. They take money away from the public schools which have to provide services not required of charter schools. There has to be more transparency and accountability. I do not want my tax dollars going to charter schools which make their owners rich on my dollar. I want my tax dollars going to public schools only unless there is more accountability. I want public schools to provide quality education (including buildings, educational material, an staff) for all districts equally. That would make the public school more attractive for all families.

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