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February 2014

Feb 25, 2014 261 notes
Feb 19, 2014
#unions #higher education #labor unions #strike #higher ed problems #chicago #uic strike #university of illinois
Break Up with ALEC

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporate-funded lobbying group that brings corporations and state legislators together to vote behind closed doors on “model” legislation without any public input. It’s basically Match.com for corporations and the legislators they want to woo.

And while ALEC claims that its education mission is to “promote excellence in the nation’s educational system,” its “model” legislation advocates for policies that defund public services, distort the curriculum and undercut our educators.

It’s time to stand up to ALEC and the damage it is trying to do to public education and our communities. Write your legislators now.

How is ALEC trying to destroy public education, you ask? It advocates for policies that would:

  • Increase the use of vouchers and tuition tax credits that sap money from public schools and send it to private and charter schools.
  • Establish funding of public virtual schools at the same per-pupil rate as brick-and-mortar schools, despite lower operating costs for virtual schools, with the difference in payments going as profits to the companies that provide these services. 
  • Require the teaching of anti-scientific, pro-corporate information about climate change.
  • Limit college professors' ability to engage in open and honest discussion.
  • Roll back the collective bargaining rights of teachers.

ALEC and its corporate “reforms” have no business in education. Tell your state legislators to reject ALEC and send the group packing.

ALEC is not working to reclaim the promise of public education. It supports a series of policy options that would devastate public schools, hurt students and teachers, and move us further and further in the direction of school privatization. ALEC doesn’t love us—it loves padding the profit margins of its corporate members. This Valentine’s Day, urge your legislators to break up with ALEC. 

Feb 14, 2014 1 note
#valentines day #alec exposed #alec #american legislative exchange council
ALEC vs. the World, on Education Policy

Here’s the list that Buzzfeed didn’t want to you see.

The American Legislative Exchange Council is a secretive group, backed by large corporations, that writes model legislation. ALEC’s report card on education cites the results of the Program for International Student Assessment comparisons of education performance as a “crisis.” But ALEC’s model legislation systematically ignores the lessons that higher-performing nations have for the United States. As outlined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which conducts the PISA study:

1. ALEC proposals decrease funding for schools 

ALEC model bills divert tax dollars to private schools and reduce funding for public services. 

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World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

Since the beginning of the economic crisis, U.S. education spending is down 1 percent, while education spending in OECD countries is up 5 percent. We should not be shifting money from public schools to private schools. 


2. ALEC proposals assume teachers and unions are the problem 

ALEC has proposed bills to limit teachers’ ability to collectively bargain. 

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World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

Top-performing countries like Japan and Finland have strong teachers unions. In fact, the body that administers the international PISA tests (the OECD) recommends working with unions rather than attacking them. 


3. ALEC proposals push “school choice” and for-profit schools 

ALEC bills include legislation for vouchers and online schools. 

World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

Top performing countries have strong PUBLIC systems. The OECD recommends ensuring that school choice programs do not become a back door for resegregation based on race or income. 


4. ALEC policies close down schools 

ALEC has proposals to close down and “turn around” schools, sometimes by bringing in “special management” to run them. 

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World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

Closing schools has a terrible effect on students and can destabilize communities. The OECD recommends directing resources to the students with the greatest needs and providing a wide curriculum and educational alternatives to prevent dropouts. 


5. ALEC has proposed creating a STEM (science, technology, education and math) education subcommittee with oil companies as members 

Exxon, BP and Shell Oil were invited to serve as private sector members on the subcommittee. ALEC legislation already includes bills that would require teaching of corporate perspectives on climate change. 

World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

Rather than letting corporations make laboratories of our schools, countries that outperform us, like Canada, put money into encouraging local experimentation and innovation. This is recommended by the OECD. 


6. ALEC proposals make poverty worse 

ALEC opposes increases to the minimum wage. ALEC also has a model bill that prohibits states from providing Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program services to children and families if those services surpass federal minimum requirements. 

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World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

Many top-performing countries have a strong social safety net. Poverty has real effects on student achievement; if you control for poverty, you’ll see U.S. students actually outperform nearly every other country. 


7. ALEC policies promote more testing and competition 

In an effort to push “accountability” for teachers and staff, ALEC pushes more high- stakes standardized testing and competition among schools. 

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World Comparison: Wrong Direction 

The highest-performing nations understand that an emphasis on outcomes has to be combined with policies that build support for teachers and staff, and help them work together. 

Feb 11, 2014 9 notes
#alec #alec exposed #education #pisa #oecd
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