Writing of the conservative take-over of education Michael W. Apple has observed that charter schools schools are permitted to opt out of state requirements and bend to the wishes of their clientele (Educating the “Right” Way: Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality. 2nd Routledge, 2006).
The New York Times reports on 8/27/2006: ‘A federal study showing that fourth graders in charter schools score worse in reading and math than their public school counterparts should cause some soul-searching in Congress. Too many lawmakers seem to believe that the only thing wrong with American education is the public school system, and that converting lagging schools to charter schools would cause them to magically improve.’
In Florida, under Jeb Bush, many charter schools–an idea he has aggressively pushed– have become part of a corporate mentality. The Florida Supreme Court ensured that Bush did lose his drive to enact the country’s first state-wide voucher program- in Bush v. Holmes.
People for the American Way report that on August 16, 2004, the Florida Court of Appeal upheld the circuit court’s ruling in a 2-1 decision. As the majority held, the “no aid” provision of the Florida Constitution clearly prohibits the state from using public funds directly or indirectly to aid religious institutions, as happens under the voucher program. In an 8-6 en banc ruling issued on November 12, 2004, the majority of the full Court of Appeals similarly held that the voucher law violates the “no aid” provision on the state Constitution. The court certified the case to the Florida Supreme Court as one involving a question of “great public importance.” The state appealed to the Florida Supreme Court on January 5, 2006. That Court, in a 5-2 ruling, struck down the voucher law on the ground that it violates the Education Clause of the Florida Constitution.
Charter schools are just another way for Barbara Bush and her son Neil Bush to use the public good for their own financial betterment. Mrs. Bush I donated to her son Neil’s company for software for a charter school as her idea of “hurricane relief.” The motives behind charetr schools may have been pure to some participants but the politicians ramming them through had many less pure motives…like Mrs. Bush I lining Neil Bush’s pockets. There is just no bottom to the Bush family’s greed.