Various school reform advocates claim all they want is equity with real public schools. Charters just want to share space with regular public schools. They simply want access to the same funding streams. Choice programs will offer rigorous education to all, with all schools held to strict accountability standards.
The problem is that this just isn't true. The reformers don't want equity, they want Charter schools have a bad habit of taking over spaces, not sharing them equitably. And the latest news out of Louisiana reminds us that accountability standards aren't for everyone, either:
State money will continue to flow to scores of private and religious schools participating in Louisiana's new voucher program even if their students fail basic reading and math tests, according to new guidelines released by the state on Monday.
The reform rhetoric and reform reality are not at all the same. When the rhetoric is questioned, the reform crowd has a bad habit of calling for civility, under the theory that questioning untruths is rude. It's time to demand honesty over civility.
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