Rahm Emanuel's Record on Education

Plugs of the Day

Check out Susan Smith's Facebook page "Jeb Fails Education. Jeb Bush's education record in Florida is atrocious. I wrote this post on the lowlights of Bush's education policies during his tenure as Governor.

On a lighter note: check out the Marco Rubio Facebook parody page "Dubious Rubio".

FSU Faculty Senate Rejects John Thrasher

The Florida State University’s Faculty Senate voted 2 to 1 against John Thrasher's candidacy for presidency.

“Be it resolved that we, the members of the Florida State University Faculty Senate, call upon the Presidential Search Advisory Committee not to recommend Senator Thrasher as a candidate for President of FSU. We further call upon the Board of Trustees not to hire Senator Thrasher as the next President of FSU. Senator Thrasher lacks the stated qualifications required for the position, whereas the other three finalists meet those qualifications. We encourage all faculty members to participate fully in the interview process and to submit comments.”

Thrasher's history of bringing pork to Florida State as a member of the legislature made it appear the job was his to lose. Other potential candidates didn't bother applying.

Search consultant Bill Funk told advisory committee members to give Thrasher a prompt “up or down” vote. Rumors that a powerhouse Republican lawmaker with deep ties to FSU is a shoo-in have deterred “premium potential candidates” from applying.

“We are not endorsing John for the role,” Funk said. “But we are saying that John is casting a long shadow. It’s limiting our opportunity to put together the kind of pool that this committee and that this university deserves.”

Thrasher is ethically challenged. Thrasher was reprimanded by the Florida House for lobbying on the floor for the Florida Board of Medicine. Thrasher had a clear conflict of interest as an elected representative and as a lobbyist.

This old post of mine details how Thrasher puts profit above education.

John Thrasher fought against the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment at the behest of developers. In the Florida Senate, Thrasher sponsored an education bill that required year end assessment tests. Thrasher's lobbying firm Southern Strategy was paid by testing firms to get more testing in k-12 education.

Thrasher is the wrong choice for FSU.

Jeb Bush Hates Public School Teachers

Shocking news: Jeb Bush comes out in favor of the New York lawsuit to end teacher tenure.

“There will be no equality in education until we transition to a system that prioritizes academic achievement for children over job security for adults. Teachers have a tremendous impact on the lives of students, particularly the most disadvantaged. When ineffective teachers are allowed to remain in the classroom because of union protections and antiquated laws, it is not only a disservice to students but also to the many wonderful teachers dedicated to excellence in education.

“The effort to end this injustice now moves to New York, where seven families are following in the footsteps of their California peers by demanding access to high quality teachers. I admire their courage in this historic undertaking, and have the deepest appreciation for Campbell Brown in assisting them. Ultimately, I am hopeful that a growing consensus for reform policies that reward and incentivize quality teaching will make the need to seek judicial relief unnecessary in the future.”

Former CNN anchor Campbell Brown organized seven New York families to file this lawsuit. Brown's husband, Dan Senor, is a member of the board of the New York affiliate of StudentsFirst. The organization StudentsFirst is run by Michelle Rhee. One of the goals of StudentsFirst is to destroy teachers unions.

“The problem to date has been that you’ve had these incredibly powerful teachers unions that have lots of resources, and they use those resources to have influence on the political process,” Rhee said last year during an interview at the Commonwealth Club of California. Rhee said StudentsFirst is the first education-oriented national interest group to seriously challenge the unions.

Since leaving Washington, Rhee has backed legislation curbing collective bargaining rights in several states. In the 18 states where the group is active, StudentsFirst has fought to eliminate “last in, first out” provisions in teachers’ contracts and to increase the role that quantitative evaluations play in teachers’ job security.

The StudentsFirst website calls for the end of teacher tenure.

Tenure in K–12 education today means that teachers (and, in many cases, principals) are granted a "job for life" after a relatively short time in the classroom — usually without any serious attempt to evaluate the teacher's effectiveness. In most states, tenure is essentially automatic after two or three years, barring criminal or extreme misconduct. Once granted, the rules and regulations accompanying tenure or permanent contracts make removing even the most unmotivated and ineffective teachers nearly impossible. These policies do nothing to advance the interests of students, but instead serve only to protect adult jobs.

If tenure merely protected teachers from being fired for arbitrary or capricious reasons, StudentsFirst would support it. Professionals should never be concerned they might lose their jobs because of their age, sex, religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Similarly, we support professionals' rights to fight back if they are wrongfully terminated. Fortunately, well-established federal and state policies allow teachers to challenge wrongful actions and prevent discriminatory firing in public education. Tenure is simply not needed to protect such rights.

To serve the interest of students, tenure must be eliminated so that teachers feel best protected by the quality of their work and the role they play on the teaching team.

Grover Norquist, in a moment of candor, admitted that the GOP wants to bust teachers unions to help Republicans win elections.

GROVER NORQUIST: "We plan to pick up another five seats in the Senate and hold the House through redistricting through 2012. And rather than negotiate with the teachers' unions' and the trial lawyers and the various leftist interest groups, we intend to break them."

Under Bush, Florida had the lowest high school graduation rate two years straight. The bipartisan the Constitutional Accountability Commission found that Bush failed to meet the Florida constitutional requirement of providing a high quality education.

Former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, a Democrat, and former Comptroller Bob Milligan, a Republican, chaired the commission and were on hand Tuesday to suggest that more money be spent on schools. They also urged creation of a system that compares Florida's performance to other states.

If Florida does nothing, it will remain vulnerable to a court challenge, the commission suggests.

"The last thing we want to have happen is for the educational system of this state to be put under court order or declared unconstitutional as it has in some other states," Butterworth said.

Bush's education record as Governor is horrible. Bush isn't interested in improving education. Bush does hate teachers unions. This quote is from Bush's speech at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

We can’t just outsource public education to bureaucracies and public education unions and hope for the best.

We certainly can't expect the best education results from Jeb Bush.

Alan Hays Hearts Dinesh D'Souza Movie

Florida State Sen. Alan Hays is drafting a one page bill making it mandatory for all high school and middle school students to watch the Dinesh D’Souza movie America.

“I saw the movie and walked out of the theater and said, ‘Wow, our students need to see this.’ And it’s my plan to show it to my colleagues in the legislature, too, before they’re asked to vote on the bill,” Hays said.

America bashes liberals and has numerous factual problems. The review by The Wrap is hysterical.

The deceptive evidence and straw-man arguments of this conservative “filmmaker” would go down easier if the actual filmmaking wasn't so inept.

Using D'Souza's movie in schools for education purposes in a horrible idea. D'Souza blamed the teaching of science for the Virginia Tech shootings. D'Souza is also convicted felon. D'Souza's film is less about education and more about promoting his contempt for the Left.

I have no doubt that Hays's bill will likely pass.

Scrap the Florida Teacher Evaluation System

The Bradenton Herald has a good op-ed on the serious flaws of the Florida's teacher evaluation system

Movement on In-State Tuition Rates

Florida state Sen. Jack Latvala is proposing in-state tuition rates for the children of illegal immigrants.

"These children are the children of taxpayers in Florida, who pay our sales tax, who pay our gas tax," Latvala said at a news conference Wednesday at St. Petersburg College's Clearwater campus. "I just think this is a disparity, a discriminatory issue that needs to go away."

State Rep. Ed Hooper appeared with Latvala at a press conference at St. Petersburg College. Hooper voiced approval for Latvala Senate bill. Rep. Jeanette Nuñez is working on a companion bill in the House. House Speaker Will Weatherford has indicated that Nuñez's bill will get a floor vote. The problem appears to be Senate President Don Gaetz doesn't support Latvala's proposed bill.

"I don't know how I explain to them that … we will subsidize families who didn't play by the rules," Gaetz said.

Without Gaetz children of illegal immigrants will not get in-state student rates. These children are being punished for their parents' citizenship status. This policy hampers the economic opportunities for young people that have been in America most or all their lives. These young people identify themselves as Americans. Yet they are denied the education to achieve the American dream.

Education Endorsement For Alex Sink

The Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association has officially has endorsed Alex Sink for Florida's congressional District 13.

“As a teacher, I want a representative in Congress that will take my voice and the voices of my students and fellow teachers to Washington to fight for us, and that’s why Alex Sink has my vote” said Dale Koning, a classroom teacher and registered Republican. “Investing in our children should not be a partisan issue, and Alex Sink has built her career on bringing Republicans and Democrats together to tackle the challenges facing our community . I support Alex because she’s the only candidate in this race with a bipartisan record of fighting for students, teachers, and our schools.”

“With her years of experience as a business leader and as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer – and a proven record of fighting for public education – we are proud to endorse Alex Sink and are confident Alex will take the voices of teachers, students and parents to Washington,” said Kim Black, President of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association. “Alex understands that supporting Pinellas County schools, colleges, and Universities is an investment in the future of our community and the economic growth of our state. We are confident Alex will be a passionate and effective advocate for Pinellas schools and families.”

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Pinellas County Classroom Teachers Association,” said Alex Sink. “As the mother of two children who attended public school here in Florida, I know firsthand the importance of working to strengthen and improve our schools. One of the most important investments we can make to grow our economy for middle class families is in the education and future of our children. We need to bring Republicans, Democrats and Independents together to focus on issues that matter like improving our schools and supporting our teachers -- it’s these bipartisan, results oriented values I’ve practiced my entire life and it’s these values that I’ll bring to Congress.”

Enough of Tea Party Nonsense at Public Hearings

The tea party is destroying Republican education policy. Case in point is a hearing held in Tallahassee for Common Core. Ignorant tea party activists aren't aware that Common Core was created by conservatives.

"As far as I'm concerned, Common Core is the same as communism," one attendee said at the Wednesday night meeting in Davie.

"Marxism!" someone shouted from the audience.

If these people took the time they would learn that Common Core was created by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Former Bush administrator officials Rod Paige and Michael Petrilli served in senior positions at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Common Core was not created by bleeding heart liberals.

This had to be the lowlight of the hearing.

Of the three town-hall style meetings, the one in Davie was the most heated —and the most vibrant. Randy Adams of Weston delivered his anti-Common Core remarks wearing a Revolutionary War uniform.

I have no interest in listening to someone dressed as a Klingon, at Comic Con, lecturing me about Middle East policy. I have even less interest in listening to a make believe Revolutionary soldier yell misinformed nonsense about Common Core. I also have no interest in giving respect to people who behave obnoxiously at public hearings. These tea party activists demand respect and treat their fellow citizens with contempt. Enough is enough.

CUNY Students Are 'All Not In' With David Petraeus

City University of New York (CUNY) gave David Petraeus a less than warm welcomed. Apparently, these students aren't "all in."

Susan Smith Wants to End Florida School Grading System

Susan Smith has started the Democracy For America campaign You Power. The goal of You Power is to have Gov. Rick Scott, the State Board of Education, and the Florida Legislature to permanently end the the grading system. I have written before that the grading system wasn't designed to improve public schools but place children in for-profit private schools.

The scandal involving former Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett is a classic example. In emails reported by the Associated Press, Bennett raised the school grade of Indiana Republican donor Christel DeHaan.

"This will be a HUGE problem for us," Bennett wrote. "They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work."

The Jeb Bush education reforms are all about breaking up the teachers' union, campaign dollars and crony capitalism. Go sign the You Power petition.

Income Inequality

The Hamilton Project has done a study on how income inequality social mobility and education. As you can see by the chart; Americans making less aren't moving above their economic status. In America the Haves have more and the have nots are getting poorer.

Figure 1 illustrates the diverging fortunes of children based on their family’s income, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau. Children in families at the top of the income distribution have experienced sizable gains in their families’ incomes and resources since 1975. Children living in the top 5 percent of families, for instance, have seen a doubling of their families’ incomes. But such gains have been more modest for children in the middle of the distribution, and children living in lower-income families have experienced outright declines in incomes. In fact, in 2011 the bottom 35 percent of children lived in families with lower reported incomes than comparable children thirty-six years earlier.

The Hamilton Project compared a college education to other investments. The findings show it makes financial sense to further the education of young people.

What will hurt the future of education America's young people is the increase in student loan debt.

Over the past decade, the volume and frequency of student loans have increased significantly. The share of twenty-five-year-olds with student debt has risen by about 15 percentage points since 2004, and the amount of student debt incurred by those under the age of thirty has more than doubled (Lee 2013).

Despite these increases, the majority of students appear to borrow prudently. About 90 percent have loan balances less than $50,000, and 40 percent have balances under $10,000 (Fry 2012). Given that a college graduate can expect to earn, on average, about $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate over the course of his or her life, the returns to college appear to warrant the cost of student loans for most students.

House Republicans wanted to raise student loan rates from 3.4 to 8.5 and let rates fluctuate with increases in Tresury notes. Democrats wanted to wanted to lock in rates at 3.4 percent for another two years. House Speaker recessed without bringing up student loan rates. Boehner spent the week failing to pass the Farm bill.

We have one of the two major political parties helping cause income inequality by making college education too expensive for students.

Louie Gohmert Compares Sex Education to the Soviet Union

Via Right Wing Watch: Rep. Louie Gohmert is a parody of an elected official. Gohmert is against public schools teaching sex education. I find that interesting since Gohmert has openly discussed the sexual practices of animals. Gohmert spoke on Wall Builders Live with hosts David Barton and Rick Green. Gohmert compared sex education to the Soviet Union.

Let the kids be innocent. Let them dream. Let them play. Let them enjoy their life. You don't have to force this sexuality stuff into their life at such a point. It was never intended to be that way. They'll find out soon enough. And, in fact, ... mankind has existed for a pretty long time without anyone ever having to give a sex-ed lesson to anybody. And now we feel like, oh gosh, people are too stupid to unless we force them to sit and listen to instructions. It's just incredible.

And there is a natural law that parents should be involved in education, they should know about, they should be part of the training - that's a law of nature; Alan Keyes was just talking about it this weekend when we were together. That is such an important part of nature and yet that is the very thing that some of these liberals want to take away.

And it reminds me so much of the summer that I was an exchange student in the Soviet Union back in the Seventies and I was shocked when they were saying 'no, the children don't belong to parents, they belong to the state.' And if any parent said anything in front of their children negative about the wonderful Soviet Union, then we will take their children away and give them to somebody more deserving. And I just thought how horribly shocking that was, that of course parents were the ones who love the children, not the state. And I thought thank God that we don't have that in our country.

And now I've seen this coming with a lady from MSNBC saying "hey, children belong to the state" ... and it just sent chills because it took me back to the Seventies when that's what the Soviet Union used to say and we know how well that worked out.

I find it funny that Gohmert cites Alan Keyes as a source of wisdom. Keyes has denounced his gay daughter and public mocked by other Republican candidates in a 2007 Iowa presidential debate. Wall Builders Live co-host David Barton has been publicly busted for making up false quotes attributed to the Founding Fathers. Barton was also an instructor for Glenn Beck's online school. Gohmert tends to associate himself with Christian Right fundamentalists. This is the real reason he doesn't want sex education in schools.

Democracy For Now Supports Students Loan Fairness Act

Democracy For America is running a petition in support of Elizabeth Warren's bill Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act.

Get this: Student loan interest rates are about to double to 6.8 percent. But big banks? They’re getting a sweet deal on borrowing money from the Fed: 0.75 percent.

No, that’s not a typo. Students will be paying 900 percent more than the biggest banks on Wall Street to borrow money.

Our biggest banks don’t deserve another sweetheart deal. And educated young Americans looking for jobs, and looking to build a future for themselves, don’t deserve to see their interest rates skyrocket.

The text of Warren's remarks.

Warren's legislation would direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make available low interest student loans available through the Federal Reserve System. Warren's concern is that students will be buried in debt if Congress allows student loan rates to increase. On July 1st, student loan rates will increase from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats should hammer Republicans on this issue. Republicans can't afford to lose more young voters.

Democracy For America sent out this email to its supporters.

Senators Tammy Baldwin and Kirsten Gillibrand have signed onto our campaign to keep student loan interest rates from doubling -- joining more than 100,000 other Democracy for America members demanding we treat our students as well as the big Wall Street banks.

Let's see how many more Democratic senators Democracy For America and activists can get on board.

Todd W. Byars Speaks Out Against Charter Schools

Todd W. Byars spoke to the Florida House Committee about the failure of charter schools. Byars has worked as a teacher. Byars currently runs the Computer Dudes, Inc.

Michelle Rehwinkel Press Release on Parent Trigger Bill

Florida Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel press release on the Republican parent trigger bill.

“I believe the Florida Legislature should focus on improving public schools, and not giving away parents’ power to for-profit corporations. There are better ways than the so-called parent trigger legislation to improve low-performing schools.

“Florida already has mechanisms in place by which parents and teachers can implement turnaround strategies, including converting a traditional public school to a charter school. The parent trigger bill circumvents that process.

“To address the needs of low-performing public schools and economically disadvantaged students, I call attention to House Bill 1401 by my Democratic colleague, Representative Ricardo Rangel of Kissimmee, that establishes a pilot program for the lowest-performing public schools in this state.

“Representative Rangel’s House Bill 1401 creates a public-private program that would supply wrap-around services to students attending the schools, including but not limited to, tutorial and after-school programs, student counseling, nutrition education, health and dental services, parental counseling, and adult education.”

JD Alexander's Legacy

JD Alexander used his position as Florida Senate budget chairman to help his private businesses and enact revenge on the University of South Florida. Alexander's past legislative moves are still costing the Florida taxpayers.

Alexander attempted to move the USF College of Pharmacy to Lakeland. When that failed, Alexander cut 58 percent of the USF budget. Alexander then successfully made USF's Polytechnic school an independent university. The new school would not be accredited, students or a campus. Former State Sen. Paula Dockery summed it up best.

"So there's $10 million for USF students, then $22 million for Polytech, which right now doesn't have any students," Dockery said.

Alexander didn't care about these problems. A new university would forward plans for road construction for Alexander's plans to build a residential community. A nearby university would also increase Alexander's property values. This is nothing more than crony capitalism. TBO.com reports that the taypayers will have to pay for Alexander's real estate ambitions.

As the Tribune's Jerome Stockfisch reports, Florida Polytechnic University's trustees are asking for an additional $25 million this year, though it has about $109 million to get the university running by 2014. Most of that money was left by USF.

But now the trustees of the unaccredited school with no students say they need more for infrastructure, including landscaping, roads and furniture.

If this university does get off the ground; who wants to attend a school that offers a worthless degree?

Joe Arpaio's Armed Posse At Schools

Sheriff Joe Arpaio represents everything that is wrong with law enforcement. Arpaio's latest bad idea is having an all volunteer posse patrol the outside perimeters of public schools. The details are scarce. That is probably because Sheriff Joe put no thought behind the policy.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio tells KTVK-TV he has the authority to mobilize private citizens to fight crime but hasn't talked to specific districts.

He says he doesn't plan to put posse members inside schools but will have them posted around the perimeters.

It is like Sheriff Joe takes his law enforcement cues from the right-wing blogosphere.

Rick Scott's Tuition Pitch

Gov. Rick Scott challenged community colleges to create a $10,000 bachelor degree. The question is what is Scott's reasoning.

"I am issuing a challenge to our state colleges to find innovative ways to offer a bachelor's degree at a cost of just $10,000 in fields that will provide graduates with the best opportunity for employment," Scott said.

Of course, Scott offered no state funding to help community colleges meet his challenge. The only thing I can think of is Scott thinks college education works like McDonald's. Lower prices and people will come. I haven't ate at McDonald's for years because the food is cheap because it sucks.

Roberto Martinez, of the Board of Education, called Scott's $10,000 bachelor degree pitch "a gimmick." That sounds about right. Scott isn't actually proposing anything. College tuition in Florida is cheaper than other states. Making Florida tuition cheaper will achieve what exactly? Martinez described Scott's pitch is designed to "be used as a sound bite." That sounds about right to me.

Vote No on Amendment 3

Former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos was running for the U.S. Senate. Haridopolos wanted to show the tea party set how much he hated taxes. Haridopolos proposed limiting how much tax revenue Florida could collect. The Republican controlled Florida legislature and the Constitution Revision Commission. Haridopolos succeeded in getting Amendment 3 on the Florida ballot.

STATE GOVERNMENT REVENUE LIMITATION.—This proposed amendment to the State Constitution replaces the existing state revenue limitation based on Florida personal income growth with a new state revenue limitation based on inflation and population changes. Under the amendment, state revenues, as defined in the amendment, collected in excess of the revenue limitation must be deposited into the budget stabilization fund until the fund reaches its maximum balance, and thereafter shall be used for the support and maintenance of public schools by reducing the minimum financial effort required from school districts for participation in a state-funded education finance program, or, if the minimum financial effort is no longer required, returned to the taxpayers. The Legislature may increase the state revenue limitation through a bill approved by a super majority vote of each house of the Legislature. The Legislature may also submit a proposed increase in the state revenue limitation to the voters. The Legislature must implement this proposed amendment by general law. The amendment will take effect upon approval by the electors and will first apply to the 2014-2015 state fiscal year.

Voters are up in arms over Gov. Rick Scott's education cuts. Teachers have gathered protest the cuts. Haridopolos only wants the "minimum financial effort" spent on schools. If lawmakers decide more spending is needed for schools, it would have to be approved by a super majority vote. The short answer is Haridopolos' amendment would make it nearly impossible school spending to increase.

The U.S Census Report found Florida is next to last in education spending per pupil.

Lowest per-pupil spending Utah - $6,064 Idaho - $7,106 Arizona - $7,848 Oklahoma - $7,896 Tennessee - $8,065 Mississippi - $8,119 North Carolina - $8,409 Nevada - $8,483 Florida –$8,741 Texas - $8,746

Florida has passed tax cuts under governors Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott. There is no state income tax. Florida taxpayers are hardly spending too much on education. Vote no on Amendment 3.