In Case You Missed It – July 29, 2024

Here are links to last week's^† articles receiving the most attention on NEIFPE's social media accounts. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"In Indiana, voucher program costs have ballooned to $439 million, some 40 percent higher than in 2022–2023.

Despite the enormous costs -– vouchers haven’t improved educational outcomes." -- Sheila Kennedy in Project 2025, Public Education And The Public Good

FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD

Project 2025, Public Education And The Public Good

Sheila Kennedy makes clear that the purpose of Project 2025 is the destruction of public education.

From Sheila Kennedy

As we’ve learned more about the various elements of “Plan 2025,” it looks increasingly like an all-out attack on the America most of us believe in. There’s the assault on women (the effort to take us back to what those nice White “Christian” men consider our proper role as breeders and housemaids); the fight to remove any and all elements of a social safety net (who needs health insurance or Social Security?); the multiple provisions favoring the wealthy over the middle-class; and a full-scale attack on public education.

Time Magazine, among others, has reported on the education portion of the White Nationalists’ plan.

Project 2025, the policy agenda for Former President Trump’s potential first year back in the White House published by the far right conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, has been making waves recently. Some of the many destructive proposals within the agenda include the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education—along with federal education funding and any civil rights protections—and the diversion of public money to private school voucher programs instead.

Make no mistake: The goal is to end public education.

DEFEAT VOUCHERS

Anti-Voucher Victories in 2024: A Conversation with Education Advocates from MS, NJ, ID, TX and TN

Public Funds for Public Schools - Education advocates from MS, NJ, ID, TX, and TN – states that successfully defeated private school voucher proposals in 2024 – share insight, strategies, and tips during PFPS’s latest webinar.

INVEST IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ohio Charter Schools Still Struggle

Can states afford to fund more than one type of school system? Indiana's constitution, for example, mandates a system of public schools...not charters or private schools.

From Stephen Dyer at 10th Period Substack

Here’s what I wrote in 2015 about Ohio’s historic House Bill 2, which was supposed to start improving our historically ridiculed charter school sector,

“And while we should all celebrate its passage and acknowledge the enormous strides the bill represents for additional accountability and transparency of Ohio’s charter schools, we must now keep a careful eye on what happens next.”

Since I wrote that piece, Ohio has spent nearly $9 billion on charter schools. And what has resulted? The same sad performance Ohio’s charter schools have given us for the last 25 years.

Need proof?

Let’s look at the list of “high performing” charter schools the state put out this year. First thing first: There are 23 schools on the list. Out of 269 non-dropout recovery charter schools. That’s 8.5% — about the same as it’s always been.

INDIANA GRADUATION

Feedback on Indiana’s diploma overhaul plan continues to pour in as state officials deliberate

Though members of the State Board of Education are trying to slow down the process, they only have until December to finalize new graduation options.

From Indiana Capital Chronicle

As state education officials pump the brakes on a plan to overhaul Indiana’s high school diplomas, concerns from Hoosier teachers, students and families are mounting over the proposed graduation requirements.

With the deadline fast approaching for the State Board of Education (SBOE) to finalize the changes, state leaders are asking for more statewide feedback — including what’s expected to be a lengthy public forum scheduled for next week.

Although the original plan was for the state board to vote on the new diplomas in September, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said at a board meeting last week that — in response to feedback received already — the process is slowing down, at least somewhat.

Jenner said the board will hear a revised draft proposal at the August meeting, followed by a second round of feedback, including a public hearing, before the board releases a final proposal.

LOCAL NEWS

Fort Wayne Community Schools board votes to expand student cellphone pouch program

The FWCS Board has decided to lock up student phones during the school day. What do you think?

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

The Fort Wayne Community Schools board decided in a split vote Monday to spend about $300,000 on equipment that will keep more students from using their phones during class.

The purchase of Yondr products – including 12,000 magnetic lock-and-release student phone pouches – follows a spring pilot program that saw participating schools’ GPAs increase and discipline violations decrease at greater rates compared with districtwide rates.

Board member Steve Corona acknowledged some students and parents were unhappy when the cellphone pouches were introduced at Jefferson and Shawnee middle schools and at North Side and Wayne high schools in March. However, Corona added, the district’s focus must be on improving the academic environment.

“Phones disrupt and distract,” Corona said. “We need to improve the classroom performance and the behavior of our students, and silencing those phones, putting them in the Yondr pouches, is the solution.”

JOIN US

An Evening with Jennifer McCormick

NEIFPE is proud to co-sponsor this event featuring Jennifer McCormick, candidate for Governor of Indiana. We hope you can attend.

Click HERE to register for the September 25th event:








**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both are available with a subscription. Staying informed is essential; one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information, go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/ [NOTE: NEIFPE has no financial ties to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette]

^†Note: NEIFPE's In Case You Missed It is posted by the end of the day every Monday except after holiday weekends or as otherwise noted.

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