After years of blocking voucher bills in the Tennessee House, we are now seeing the ESA Voucher (Gift Cards for Education) bill barreling its way through the State Legislature at breakneck speed. And we mean breakneck speed… BREAK NECK as in any legislator who stands in the way gets his neck broke… or has his committee chairmanship taken away.  

We first told you about the details of this bill here. Since our last blog, the bill has seen several amendments highlighted below and passed 14-9 in the House Education Committee. See our list of Heroes and Zeroes in the House at the end. 

​But the most significant revelation has been the fiscal note on this bill. Despite the concessions made to reduce possible abuse, the financial impact of this bill on Tennessee's largest school districts will be stunning.

The fiscal note estimates that the LEAs targeted by this bill (Achievement School District, Jackson-Madison County, Knox County, Hamilton County, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and Shelby County Schools) will lose nearly $111,000,000 annually in funding, beginning in year six of the program. Plus, LEAs are conservatively expected to lose another $6.2M annually in federal funding. But the actual amount could go as high as $18M. This will be on top of the LEA's nearly $200K of anticipated expenses incurred from administering TNReady/TCAP tests to voucher students. All that adds to approximately $117,000,000 in lost funding for targeted LEAs.

​With that kind of funding loss to our largest school districts, this bill has the potential to bankrupt Tennessee's system of public education. 

The money lost to vouchers is supposed to be compensated by a state grant for three years to LEAs. But this money goes into a school improvement fund administered by TDOE and will not be disbursed until "after the first three (3) fiscal years in which the program accepts participating students.…" And then, the money may not go into an LEA's general budget. Instead, the grant money must earmarked to support priority schools. 

In addition, to the loss of funding for LEAs, there are even more financial ramifications. The ESA voucher program is expected to cost the State $25,250,000 annually plus a one-time amount of $200K for first year start-up costs. Over $6,000,000 annually is earmarked to outside fund administrator(s). That amount could be even higher as there is a discrepancy between the proposed 49-6-2603(a)(4)(M) which limits the administrative fee to 2% and proposed 49-6-2605(h) which allows the fee to go up to 6%.  

Millions upon millions of dollars are at stake in this proposed legislation. 

Education reformers have had their eye on Tennessee for a long time. For years, they have been trying to undermine our Tennessee schools with bogus school choice legislation. And recently, they carved out a nice little niche in the law books for future school choice legislation.

You can see that effective 2018, our state lawmakers reserved certain sections of the Elementary and Secondary Education statutes for future legislation. And now, we know what kind of special Hell they have been planning for public education. The proposed HB939/SB795 was finally unveiled to the House Education Committee last week. While the bill passed committee, it was not without criticisms so some compromises were made. ​A list of highlighted changes is detailed below. 
​

New Approved Uses for ESA Voucher Money

The latest version of the bill changed some of the things that can be purchased with ESA vouchers. We have listed those changes below with deleted items in red and additional language in blue. 

• Tuition or fees at a participating school
• Textbooks required by a participating school; 
• Tutoring services provided by a tutor or tutoring facility that meets the requirements established by the department and the state board
• REMOVED: Payment for purchase of curriculum, including any supplemental materials or instruments required by the curriculum. As used in this subdivision, "curriculum" means instructional educational materials for an academic course of study
• Fees for transportation to and from a participating school or educational provider paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider
• Tuition and fees for an eligible nonpublic online learning program or course that meets the requirements set by the department and the state board 
• Fees for early postsecondary opportunity courses and examinations required for college admission
• Services provided under a contract with a public school, including individual classes or extracurricular programs 
• Computer hardware or other technological devices approved by the department, if the computer hardware or other technological device is used for the student's educational needs and is purchased through a participating school, private school, or provider
• School uniforms, if required by a participating school
• Tuition and fees for summer education programs and specialized afterschool education programs, which do not include afterschool childcare
• Tuition and fees for at an eligible postsecondary institution
• REMOVED: Contributions to a Tennessee state-sponsored college savings educational investment trust account established pursuant to chapter 7, part 8 of this title and § 529 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 529), in accordance with state and federal law and all relevant rules, regulations, notices, and interpretations by the United States department of the treasury, including interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code; provided, however, that the contributions and earnings shall not be used for elementary or secondary educational expenses
• Textbooks required by an eligible postsecondary institution
• Educational therapy services provided by therapists that meet the requirements established by the department and the state board
• Fees for the management of the ESA by a private or non-profit financial management organization, as approved by the department. The fees must not exceed two percent (2%) of the funds deposited in a participating student's ESA in a fiscal year.

Homeschool Students Now Excluded 

It would appear that the newly amended bill no longer includes home school or church school kids. The bill specifically provides that the parent must ensure a participating student satisfies the compulsory school attendance requirement provided in TCA 49-6-3001(c)(3) through enrollment in a private school defined in 49-6-3001(c)(3)(A)(iii).

“Private school” means a school accredited by, or a member of, an organization or association approved by the state board of education as an organization accrediting or setting academic requirements in schools, or that has been approved by the state, or is in the future approved by the commissioner in accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of education. It does not include students in home schools or church related schools. 


College Expenses

The bill amendment no longer allows parents to bank unused ESA voucher money into a 529 College Saving program. However, there are new provisions that allow any unused ESA money to be used by a "legacy" student up until the year of their 22nd birthday to pay for college tuition, fees, and textbooks. The bill still hands the ESA gift cards to kids between the ages of 18-22 and makes them responsible for compliance requirements. 


Athletics

Student athletes who play a regulated interscholastic sport are required to sit out a year if they use an ESA voucher to transfer from a public school to a private school. The restriction only applies if the student participated in the sport in the year immediately preceding his transfer and the student has not relocated outside his LEA. 

You can see below House Education Committee members who were the zeroes voting against public schools, heroes voting for public education, and the one dude who sat on the sidelines, not voting at all. 
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On Wednesday morning at 8:00am sharp, the House Education Committee is supposed to hear the House Voucher Bill (HB939) but you know how those politicians are… For all we know, they just might roll this bill for more time to intimidate the freshmen legislators. 

Now, if you click on that bill link, all you are going to find is a caption bill. Governor Lee has complained that people are misunderstanding his bill and spreading inaccurate information. Well, Bill Lee, or should we call you, Bull Lee, these things happen when information is withheld and the details of a bill are not shared until the last minute. 

We wonder if anyone truly understands the bill including the Governor himself….

According to TNJ on the Hill, Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Columbia), a member of the House Education Committee scheduled to vote on the bill this week, said in a Facebook post that “because of the risk of fraud, as seen in other states with Educational Savings Accounts, homeschooling is not allowed in this bill.” But the Governor said last week when reporters asked him whether home-schooling would qualify for the ESAs that “If a family is in the district that qualifies, and they are currently in a public school, then they would qualify for an ESA.”

At a Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Lee told the crowd, there's "a lot of misunderstanding about it" and "I encourage you to look deeper."​

Oh, we will...

Basically, an ESA Voucher is different than a normal voucher because instead of funding private schools, ESAs come in the form of gift cards to parents who withdraw their children from public education. Momma Bears has retained a copy of the proposed amendment to the caption bill that has all the nitty-gritty details.

We have also read Knox County School Board member, Jennifer Owen's annotated copy of the ESA voucher amendment. You can read it too by clicking here. And Tennessee Education Reports lists some key facts from the Tennessee School Board Association TSBA in its article here. 

But we are going to break it down for you Momma Bear style. We'll start with a little Q & A then tell you what the impact will be for your kids and your neighborhood schools.

Who is eligible to receive ESA Voucher funds?
Any parent or adult student that

1. lives in a school district where three or more schools are among the bottom 10% of schools                       AND
2. has a child that qualifies for Free or Reduced Lunch under direct certification in 42 USC 1758(b)(4)   OR is a member of a household that annual income for the previous year does not exceed 200% of federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced lunch 
3. signs away all their rights to public education

So basically, anyone whose child is taken out of public schools that receives a free/reduced lunch OR anyone who makes an income of less than $78,922 for a family of three; $95,276 for a family of four, $111,630 for a family of five AND lives in one of the following school systems: Knox County, Hamilton County, Metro Nashville, Shelby County, Jackson-Madison County, or state-run Achievement School District.

Does that include illegal aliens? 
Yes… Here is what the Federation for American Immigration Reform (they support the wall) had to say about the bill: Governor Bill Lee campaign ad asked “Why can’t politicians stop illegal immigration?” and answered, “As a businessman, it seems pretty clear to me. It’s about incentives. Driver’s licenses and free tuition for illegal aliens, lawless sanctuary cities. All policies that would make Tennessee a magnet for illegal immigration. I will oppose every one of them as governor.” Despite his promise to dry up incentives attracting illegal aliens to the United States, Governor Lee’s Education Savings Plan will inevitably provide school vouchers for illegal aliens. Vouchers use taxpayer funds and the Plyler holding discourages school systems from asking whether students are illegally in the U.S. Therefore, taxpayer monies can and will be provided for vouchers for illegal aliens.

What can parents buy with their ESA Voucher money?
Parents or adult students may spend ESA Voucher funds on any or all of the following items:

• Tuition or fees at a participating school
• Textbooks required by a participating school; 
• Tutoring services provided by a tutor or tutoring facility that meets the requirements established by the department and the state board
• Payment for purchase of curriculum, including any supplemental materials or instruments required by the curriculum. As used in this subdivision, "curriculum" means instructional educational materials for an academic course of study
• Fees for transportation to and from a participating school or educational provider paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider
• Tuition and fees for an eligible nonpublic online learning program or course that meets the requirements set by the department and the state board 
• Fees for early postsecondary opportunity courses and examinations required for college admission
• Services provided under a contract with a public school, including individual classes or extracurricular programs 
• Computer hardware or other technological devices approved by the department, if the computer hardware or other technological device is used for the student's educational needs
• School uniforms, if required by a participating school
• Tuition and fees for summer education programs and specialized afterschool education programs, which do not include afterschool childcare
• Tuition and fees for eligible postsecondary institution
• Contributions to a Tennessee state-sponsored college savings educational investment trust account established pursuant to chapter 7, part 8 of this title and § 529 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 529), in accordance with state and federal law and all relevant rules, regulations, notices, and interpretations by the United States department of the treasury, including interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code; provided, however, that the contributions and earnings shall not be used for elementary or secondary educational expenses
• Educational therapy services provided by therapists that meet the requirements established by the department and the state board
• Fees for the management of the ESA by a private or non-profit financial management organization, as approved by the department

Can the ESA Voucher be used for homeschool expenses?
The answer is yes. The voucher can be used for tutoring services, cost of curriculum materials, therapy services, and any other costs likely incurred by homeschooling that are listed in the bill as eligible expenses. Sorry to break it to Rep. Cepicky but there are no prohibitions in the bill against homeschooling so it looks like the Governor wins that argument. Not only is there nothing that would exclude homeschooling but in 49-6-2609, the bill specifically mentions home schools. So, there's that…. 

How often do parents/adult students get money?
Quarterly

How much money do parents/adult students get?
Depends on where you live. The ESA amount will be calculated using the BEP formula for your assigned school district. It will include both state and local school funding.

Are participating private schools limited in the amount of tuition they can charge?
No, private schools can charge the full tuition amount and parents or a third party would be responsible for any amount over and above the voucher amount.

Will I be charged income tax on the ESA Voucher payment?
The bill says, "funds received pursuant to this part do not constitute income of a parent or participating student under title 67, chapter 2 or any other state law." But you should know that the State of Tennessee still sends a 1099 form to all recipients of the current IEA voucher program just in case the IRS considers it to be taxable income. So, consult your tax attorney.

Will my child have to take TNReady? 
Probably. The bill states that voucher students in Grades 3-11 will have to take the TCAP assessment in Math and English/Language Arts. It is interesting to note that in private schools, the school just has to administer the state assessment to the voucher kids. No other students in the private school will be required to take the state assessment. For kids not in private school, the parents are the ones responsible for ensuring that their child is administered TCAP testing. 

Can I use an ESA Voucher at a religious school?
Yes, the bill specifically mentions that "neither a participating school nor a provider is required to alter its creed, practices, admissions policies, or curriculum in order to accept participating student…"

Is that Constitutional?
We will let the courts decide that if our state representative are legislating a lawsuit. But the language contemplates that there might be some Constitutional challenges so it provides, "If any of this act is challenged as violating either state or federal constitution, then parents of eligible students or parents of participating students shall be permitted to intervene in the lawsuit for the purpose of defending the act's constitutionality."
​

The Tennessee School Board Association has a detailed list of problems with this bill. It seems to be inherently unfair to public school students often requiring more rigor from them while providing less benefits. Students receiving vouchers can bank any unused monies for postsecondary education in a 529 college savings account while of course, public school students receive no such benefit. Then, what happens if the student decides not to attend college, can mom and dad withdraw the money from the college savings account? Can they keep it? 

So. Many. Questions.
​
TSBA also makes some excellent points about the lack of accountability for ESA Voucher students. Unlike public school students that are required to take TNReady testing in four areas: English/Language Arts, math, social studies, and science; the ESA Voucher kids will only test in ELA and math. ESA Voucher high schoolers are also not required to take the EOC (end of course) tests, those horrible on-line tests that crash and destroy an hour of essay of writing leaving our public school kids exasperated. And every single junior in public high schools is required to take the ACT whether they want to go to college or not. No such ACT test is required of the ESA Voucher kids. 

Let's look how this will likely play out in private schools…. This bill will likely segregate private school students into regular tuition paying students and those with voucher cards. Voucher students will have to take TNReady tests while other students do not, which begs the question, will voucher kids get a teach-to-the-test curriculum while regular students get a rich, well rounded curriculum?

And with all the special requirements of testing for voucher kids, would it be easier for a private school system to create a system within a system for the voucher kids? Something like how the Catholic School System in Memphis operates the Jubilee School System for low income students?

Now, let's look at money— Because that's really what it's all about.

This is going to be an expensive and complicated bill to administer. We won't see the actual fiscal note until the amendment drops tomorrow but we can make some educated guesses that this bill is going to cost a lot of money.

First, a lot of kids could qualify for vouchers under this bill. It includes all the major school districts in Tennessee and the income limits are clearly are in the middle class range. And while there are built-in caps on the number of participating students, there are no safeguards to protect local school systems from the costs of revolving students. 

The bill specifically allows students to exit the voucher program and return to public school at anytime. Every time a kid leaves the program, it opens up a space for a new student. But the child exiting the program's unused benefits rolls back into the program instead of following them back to the public school system. The program will eat up lots of money just by attracting kids to try out vouchers then pushing them out of the program back into public education. 

Second, unlike public schools which only require students to be educated until the age of 18, the ESA Voucher Bill allows for students to be eligible for voucher until the age of 22. And after 18, the voucher gift card is payable directly to the student. Momma Bears know how this is going to turn out. Give a teenager $20 then ask him how he spent it…nevermind, we will let the state figure that out. Good luck finding a teenager that will keep up with receipts to send into the state every quarter. Where's that eye-roll emoji when you need it?

We suspect that language was put in the bill to account for SPED students. But with Shelby County considering a policy of stopping social promotions and holding back second graders who can not read, we could see a flood gate open for students staying in school years well after their 18th birthday. As the Commercial Appeal reports, "It's unclear how many students would be affected [by the new SCS policy], but nearly three-quarters of third-grade students are currently reading below grade level, according to TNReady testing."

Third, some "hidden" costs are built into this bill for things like marketing and program administration. There is a provision for a 6% managerial cost to be deducted from the student's voucher amount. And the bill allows the TDOE to contract with a nonprofit organization to administer some or all of the program. You know what that means…. Schwinn's TFA buddies are going to get a piece of the pie. 

Fourth, this bill creates a student transition fund where the State will award grants to schools districts for the first three fiscal years of the program. The amount of the grant will be "equal to the BEP funds for participating students."  It goes on to say that the student must have been enrolled in the district for one year prior and the BEP funds are only the state part so school districts would still lose out on local funds.

Ahem…. Teachers want Gov. Lee to know that if there is some state money available, the $200 grant for classroom supplies could sure use a boost. Maybe, spend some of that grant money in the classroom instead of for more state bureaucrats, please.

Now let's talk Fraud— Because that is the biggest weakness with these voucher programs. 

"Reports from across the nation show situations in which private-school officials and parents spent voucher money for items unrelated to education. Cards were used at beauty supply stores, sporting good shops and for computer tech support, in addition to trying to withdraw cash, which was not allowed."

While the bill promises that only "approved" schools and providers will be the recipients of ESA Voucher monies, its leaves open the all so important details as to what qualifies schools and providers to be approved. That's asking a lot of constituents to trust appointed officials like Penny Schwinn with her history on unethical contracts to make major decisions on how millions if not, billions of state dollars are spent. 

And the only safeguards built into the bill are a fraud hot line and an anonymous reporting system. That's it, folks. There are NO criminal or civil penalties for abuse. You know what that means??? Schwinn's TFA buddies won't have to go to jail for unethical contracts. And parents can take full advantage of free gift cards from the state. If they get caught not complying with the rules, worst thing that happens is their kid goes back to public schools. 

Well, we could go on for days….

But, you probably know more about the ESA Voucher bill now than your state legislator. So, go and educate them. Remember to reach out personally to your state representatives and as always ask your friends to help.

​#SharetheBear

Well, Well, Well….

While Momma Bears were out on Spring Break, it seems like our new Governor has been up to some shenanigans. Typical. Just typical to try to sneak in some bad bill amendments while we were busy with the kids home from school. 

We are back now and paying attention. So, let's catch you up on what's going on….

Last week, the House Education Committee met and passed a last minute 38 page bill amendment to House Bill 940 without even having time to read it. This amended bill creates an alternate system of charter schools run by a nine member commission hand-picked by the Governor. We have all the ugly detail here. 

​So, how did such a crazy amendment get past committee members when they didn't even get a chance to read it?

​ We are hearing lots of accusations that Governor Lee with the help of Bill Haslam's ed reformy cronies has been bullying lawmakers. And as a result, some representatives changed their vote allowing a bill stuck in committee to get through and get through with a big, ugly, gigantic amendment. So, how did that happen? What could convince these lawmakers to turn on Tennessee's school children? 

There is some BIG money and we mean BIG money from out-of-state lobbyists interested in destroying public education in Tennessee. We saw this in the 2018 elections where Tennessee Federation for Children tried to buy themselves some politicians. Those suckers invested almost a quarter million dollars into various house races last year. They sent out mailers and other campaign materials trying to get certain candidates elected. But as you can see from the list, they lost a lot of races. 

Earlier this week, the State GOP sent out an email asking Republicans statewide to support the Governor's Education Savings Account bill. The email instructs the reader to click a link that takes them to this website that is run by… you guessed it!! None other than Tennessee Federation for Children. The email to state legislators written by Tennessee Federation for Children mentions 78% of Tennesseans support ESA vouchers. What they didn't tell you is that the poll was conducted by telephone in a five day period from January 31 to February 4 by Mason-Dixon polling. Only 625 people participated.

So if the Tennessee Federation for Children can't strong arm politicians into supporting school (faux) choice programs, it now appears that a group called Tennesseans for Student Success is threatening mud-slinging campaigns against any representative who doesn't support the Governor's charter authorizer or voucher bill. Tennessee Education Reports has the details of political attack ads against two GOP lawmakers that voted against the Governor's charter authorizer bill last week. 

Tennesseans for Student Success is a 501(c)(4) who listed their contributions as nearly $2.5M on their 2016 990 Form. They came onto the scene in 2015 to shove Governor Haslam's pro-common core stance down our throats. And they have very close ties to Haslam and Lamar Alexander. According to the Tennessean, Haslam and Alexander's former campaign manager, Jeremy Harrell, opened the doors of Tennesseans for Student Success as its executive director. Their first order of business was to run TV ads supporting Tennessee Standards, our version of Common Core State Standards. 

And they are no stranger to attack ads. In 2016, they ran this ad against Democrat Gloria Johnson from Knoxville. Johnson, who was defeated in 2016, won her seat back in 2018 and ironically, was there to witness some strange goings-on in committee. She posted on Facebook what happened:

And Gloria Johnson is not the only legislator to complain about the tactics of Tennesseans for Student Success. Republican Andy Holt describes the group as a "pro-Common Core group that is funded by multi-millionaire politicians, test makers, book publishers and special interests that make even more millions off of Tennessee tax-payers through the implementation of Common Core." On his website, Holt accuses the group of coming after him for taking a stand for teachers and parents on the issue of TNReady testing. "It's no secret that I'm a conservative Republican. I always have been. However, when I say I'm taking a stand for teachers and parents, I mean it." 

Knox County School Board member, Jennifer Owens said that in addition to the intimidation tactics, constituents are not receiving the correct information about the proposed Voucher/ESA bill from the Governor's office and legislators. She takes you through the ins and outs of the bill and you can read her comments here. 

Stay tuned for Momma Bear's next blog where we tell you all about the ESA bill set for hearing 8:00am Wednesday. Get on the phones and make your legislators understand that money and lobbyists don't vote but Momma Bears sure do!!

Remember our previous blog where we warned you that Tennessee's new Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn would fight for charters and choice?

​Well, that is exactly what is happening now as two horrible bills (HB 940/SB 796 and HB 939/SB 795) make their way through the Tennessee Legislature. We alerted you to the dangers of those bills in a prior blog, but since then, things have gotten much worse. 

The Charter School expansion bill was amended last week and passed through the House Education Committee. With the new amendment, this bill will create a new nine member commission that is hand-picked by the Governor. The commissioners will eventually serve a term of five years. The proposed commission will be powerful. It will be able to approve charter school applications in every county in Tennessee and act as authorizer for its newly approved charter schools. 

Essentially, this nine member commission will be given statutory authority under the proposed law to create an alternate school system of charter schools that is designed to compete against our current public school districts. In the end, we will see public schools run by local school boards declining as charter schools governed by the state appointees are given every opportunity to grow. 

And there's more…

Only five members of this proposed commission are needed to constitute a quorum. So theoretically, a three person majority who knows nothing about your community has the power to make major decisions about your local schools. Three appointees, who have never set foot in your county, can decide who will serve as superintendent, where a school will be located, which company gets the bus contract or the food services contract, etc.

And as charter school proliferate and takeover public education, this commission will effectively replace the decision making power of every popularly elected school board in the state. 

Don't be fooled by the propaganda put out by politicians. They are going to tell you that the commission will only have to power to review the charter school applications that were rejected by local school boards. While that's partly true, the amended bill explicitly allows the proposed commission to act as the authorizer for every charter school application it approves.  

That is a BIG DEAL with many ramifications.

It upsets the power balance between state and local control over our schools. The proposed law will usurp the authority of our locally elected school boards then hands it over to an appointed state commission. This new charter school commission will answer only to the state Board of Education, another appointed body whose members are chosen by the Governor.   

​We have seen this type of power-grab during the Haslam administration when the State targeted underperforming schools for charter school conversion. Most of those schools were located in Shelby County with a few in Nashville and Chattanooga. But now, the power-grab will be statewide and with no restraints, prompting Rep. Antonio Parkinson from Memphis to tell his colleagues on the House Education Committee, "This opens up a nice little floodgate for the rest of y’all to see what we’ve been screaming bloody murder about. Y’all get a chance to feel what that feels like, and see what we’ve been screaming about the last few years.”

Under the proposed legislation, the commission will essentially act as the school board for charter schools. Every time, a local school board rejects a charter school application, the proposed commission will have the ability to approve the rejected application. Then, the commission will act as authorizer which gives it the same autonomy and authority under the law as local school boards.
​
In Tennessee, elected school boards have certain duties including policy making, employing a director of schools, procuring goods and services, as well as approving a budget. Elected school boards act as a representative of their communities in deciding these important matters. And their decisions must be made in an open meeting after giving notice to the public. 

However, under the proposed bill, all the powers of local school boards are explicitly given to this appointed commission. 

The commission will have the power to set policies and procedures for school operations as well as procure goods and services including but not limited to "personal, professional, consulting, and social services." That's a lot of money that gets to be spent by this proposed commission whose only oversight comes from the state Board of Education. And if they follow Penny Schwinn's history of no-bid contracts benefitting her TFA buddies, we are in big trouble. 

The appointed nine member commission will also have the authority to employ a director/superintendent of schools and that director will be answerable only to the commission. In a interesting twist, the bill requires commission members to have collective "experience and expertise in charter schools or charter school authorizing, public and nonprofit governance, finance, law, and school or school district leadership."

That is interesting because ordinarily, elected school boards only have to be adults with a high school diploma. It's also interesting because no such expertise is required of the director of schools who is charged of actually running the district and has the same duties and powers legally granted to all other directors of schools including the sole authority to hire, appoint, terminate, control personnel, etc. In addition to creating a staff, a school director's big responsibility is to develop a budget and make spending recommendations.
​
All in all, this bill puts a lot spending power in the hands of unelected people who serve at the will of the Governor. 

Speaking of spending power, let's talk money…. Our Momma Bears bloggers have told you time and time again, if you want to know what's going on, all you need to do is follow the money trail. 

With a new charter-friendly commission in place, you can bet Tennessee will be attracting some big name charter school chains from all over the nation. We all know, when charter school chains smell money, they come running.

And we bet we will be seeing one charter school chain, in particular. 

IDEA based out of Texas touts itself to be "the fastest growing network of tuition free PreK-12 public charter schools in the United States" and it has big plans for expansion.

Oh, and guess who just happens to be the vice president of the fastest growing charter school chain in the country?

Surprise, Surprise...

It is none other than Paul Schwinn, the husband of Tennessee's Education Commissioner, Penny Schwinn. And according to Linkin, he is still employed by the Texas charter school chain despite his family's recent move to Tennessee. And we know, the Schwinns have a history of working together without regard to conflicts of interest. 

"Last Spring, the Delaware DOE hired Mrs. Penny Schwinn, a charter school leader from Sacramento, as the Chief Accountability and Performance Officer.  Months later, Mr. Paul Schwinn, her husband, has been hired as the Director of Leadership Development for the Delaware Leadership Project, which is funded by the Delaware DOE, Rodel and Vision.  I know the Delaware DOE wants family involvement, but this is a clear conflict of interest.  The wheels on the Schwinn go round and round…​" 

IDEA makes a lot of big claims about success. 

But IDEA is just another snake oil selling charter school that promises big success but delivers false promises. 

1)      IDEA Charter schools do not enroll “underserved” students regardless of the measure used to identify “underserved.” Specifically, as compared to schools in the same market, IDEA schools enroll lower percentages of economically disadvantaged students, special education students, bilingual education students, students requiring modifications or accommodations on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), and students scoring below average on the TAKS mathematics or TAKS readings tests.
2)      IDEA Charter schools send 100% of graduates to post-secondary institutions of higher education only if the actual number of graduates is the group of students examined. If we consider the number of students starting in the 9th grade as the cohort of students of interest, then the percentage of IDEA students entering post-secondary institutions of higher education is, at best, around 65% for the cohort of 9th grader students in 2009.
3)      One reason why IDEA secondary schools outperform high schools in the same area is because IDEA Charter schools lose a greater proportion of lower performing students than higher performing students. This disproportionate disappearance rate of students would increase overall TAKS scores at the school and district levels even if the remaining students made no increase in achievement
While further study of additional cohorts is needed, this preliminary study strongly suggests that claims of academic superiority and helping the “underserved” students in the Rio Grande Valley are simply false or misleading. More importantly, this study calls into serious question the claim that IDEA Charter schools have the background, experience, and track-record necessary to educate all types of students in East Austin. This study suggests that IDEA Charter schools rely in part on the “creaming/skimming” of students and the student disappearance of lower performing students to achieve their success. 
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Time to call those politicians in office and set them straight on selling off our public schools. And we mean call them. Forget the email campaign, make them explain to you why they are they are taking away funding and local control over our schools!!

Unfortunately, the really bad Voucher bill (aka: "Education Savings Account") passed out of the Education subcommittee last week.  It is scheduled to be heard this WEDNESDAY.  This is bad news, folks.  This bill would devastate our already underfunded public schools.  It most certainly would not help the poor, minority students it is claiming to help.  In fact, it would harm them and their schools even more.  

Our legislators are being repeatedly bombarded with lobbyists paid for with out-of-state money.  It is difficult to ignore generous campaign contributions from those who are eager to get their greedy hands on public tax dollars by privatizing public education.  Not only that, the new Governor is really pressuring the newer legislators to support his bills.  These legislators need to hear from the people who elected them!  Would you please take a few minutes to contact the legislators below, especially if you are in their district?  Your voice CAN make a difference!  The message below has what you need to know and do...

The following is re-posted from Pastors for TN Children:

Friends, we need your help!

A voucher bill (HB939/ SB795) will be heard at 8 am this Wednesday, March 27th, in the full House Education Committee, and this is our best chance to stop vouchers in Tennessee. Vouchers will destroy public education in our fair state!

Please contact the legislators who will vote on the bill. Also, for those who can attend, we need as many pastors and supporters as possible to be there for the vote on Wednesday. The vote will be held in House Hearing Room 1 of the Cordell Hull Building.

Here is information on the bill: HB 939/SB 795 would create a new form of vouchers in Tennessee called Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). ESAs have been described as “vouchers on steroids.” This proposed legislation is targeted not toward “children trapped in failing schools,” but toward wealthier families, with virtually no regulation or public accountability. Vouchers would be available in any district containing at least three schools in the bottom 10% of schools in the state, but vouchers would be made available to ALL students in that district, including those enrolled in high-performing schools and private schools. Families making up to around $100,000 per year would be eligible for the voucher, and private schools would not be required to accept the voucher as payment in full. This means that more affluent families with children already enrolled in private schools could use the voucher to help offset their current payments for private school. It will also allow students to cross county lines with their vouchers, which could wreak havoc on many rural school districts. Local school districts will have to pay for the bulk of these vouchers. (For example, in Davidson County, the state would pay only about $3,600 toward the cost of the voucher, while Davidson County would be required to pay about $8,100 per voucher.) On top of this, the state would withhold a 6% management fee for the voucher program. The governor has claimed that a limited amount of funding will be available to school districts to help offset the cost of the vouchers for three years, but this money could be revoked at any time- and worse, vouchers will create ongoing recurring costs that school districts will be unable to cover for an indefinite period of time.

Once the door to vouchers has been opened, it cannot be shut. Under this legislation, vouchers would become an entitlement for upper middle class private school parents and homeschool parents.

Below is a list of the legislators who will vote on the bill:
Thank you for your help!

Mark White, Chair 615-741-4415
rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov

Kirk Haston, Vice Chair 615-741-0750 
rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov

Debra Moody 615-741-3774
rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov

Charlie Baum 615-741-6849
rep.charlie.baum@capitol.tn.gov

David Byrd 615-741-2190
rep.david.byrd@capitol.tn.gov

Scott Cepicky 615-741-3005
rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov

Mark Cochran 615-741-1725
rep.mark.cochran@capitol.tn.gov

Jim Coley 615-741-8201
rep.jim.coley@capitol.tn.gov

John DeBerry, Jr. 615-741-2239
rep.john.deberry@capitol.tn.gov

Vincent Dixie 615-741-1997
rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov

Jason Hodges 615-741-2043
rep.jason.hodges@capitol.tn.gov

Chris Hurt 615-741-2134
rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov

Tom Leatherwood 615-741-7084
rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov

Bill Dunn 615-741-1721
rep.bill.dunn@capitol.tn.gov

Harold Love, Jr. 615-741-3831
rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov

Antonio Parkinson 615-741-4575
rep.antonio.parkinson@capitol.tn.gov

John Ragan 615-741-4400
rep.john.ragan@capitol.tn.gov

Iris Rudder 615-741-8695
rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov

Jerry Sexton 615-741-2534
rep.jerry.sexton@capitol.tn.gov

Kevin Vaughan 615-741-1866
rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov

Terri Lynn Weaver 615-741-2192
rep.terri.lynn.weaver@capitol.tn.gov

Ryan Williams 615-741-1875
rep.ryan.williams@capitol.tn.gov
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John Mark Windle 716-741-1260
rep.john.windle@capitol.tn.gov

Info below shared from a great public school organization called Pastors for Tennessee Children

ALERT: We need your help!!!

Two bills are up for vote this week that comprise a clear and present danger to public education in Tennessee. These two bills would eviscerate local control of schools in Tennessee and hijack local taxpayer dollars to drain the coffers of school districts across the state.

VOUCHER BILL:
First, HB 939/SB 795 would create a new form of vouchers in Tennessee called Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). ESAs have been described as “vouchers on steroids.” This proposed legislation is targeted not toward “children trapped in failing schools,” but toward wealthier families, with virtually no regulation or public accountability. Vouchers would be available in any district containing at least three schools in the bottom 10% of schools in the state, but vouchers would be made available to ALL students in that district, including those enrolled in high-performing schools and private schools. Families making up to around $100,000 per year would be eligible for the voucher, and private schools would not be required to accept the full voucher as payment in full. This means that more affluent families with children already enrolled in private schools could use the voucher to help offset their current payments for private school. It will also allow students to cross county lines with their vouchers, which could wreak havoc on many rural school districts. Local school districts will have to pay for the bulk of these vouchers. (For example, in Davidson County, the state would pay only about $3,600 toward the cost of the voucher, while Davidson County would be required to pay about $8,100 per voucher.) On top of this, the state would withhold a 6% management fee for the voucher program. The governor has claimed that a limited amount of funding will be available to school districts to help offset the cost of the vouchers for three years, but this money could be revoked at any time- and worse, vouchers will create ongoing recurring cost that school districts will be unable to cover for an indefinite period of time. Once the door to vouchers has been opened, it cannot be shut. Under this legislation, vouchers would become an entitlement for upper middle class private school parents and homeschool parents.

CHARTER SCHOOLS BILL:
Second, HB 940/SB 796 would remove local control of schools by creating a new government bureaucracy in the form of an appointed nine-member charter school authorizing commission, to be known as the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. The new Commission will be allowed to place charter schools all over the state without local approval, and local school districts will then be required to pay for the new unwanted schools. This would create uncovered fixed costs in school district budgets that would drain funding from local neighborhood schools. The Commission would likely be comprised of all pro-charter school appointees, including lobbyists for the charter industry and those already serving on charter school boards, which would create an obvious conflict of interest.


These two bills are being driven by out-of-state special interests seeking to profit from Tennessee’s most vulnerable children. You can help by contacting the legislators listed below who will vote on the bills to tell them that you support local control of schools and that you would like to see investment in our existing schools!


939 HB / SB 795 (VOUCHERS) will be heard in the House Education Curriculum, Testing, and Innovation Subcommittee on Tuesday, March 19th, at noon (House Hearing Room IV):
Debra Moody, Chair 615-741-3774 rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov
Charlie Baum 615-741-6849 rep.charlie.baum@capitol.tn.gov
John DeBerry, Jr. 615-741-2239 rep.john.deberry@capitol.tn.gov
Vincent Dixie 615-741-1997 rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov
Bill Dunn 615-741-1721 rep.bill.dunn@capitol.tn.gov
Tom Leatherwood 615-741-7084 rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov
Mark White 615-741-4115 rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov

HB 940 / SB 796 (VOUCHERS) will be heard in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, March 20th, at 2:30 pm (Senate Hearing Room I):
Delores Gresham, Chair (901) 465-9433 sen.delores.gresham@capitol.tn.gov
Brian Kelsey, 1st Vice Chair (615) 741-3036 sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov
Raumesh Akbari, 2nd Vice Chair (615) 741-1767 sen.raumesh.akbari@capitol.tn.gov
Mike Bell (615) 741-1946 sen.mike.bell@capitol.tn.gov
Rusty Crowe (615) 741-2468 sen.rusty.crowe@capitol.tn.gov
Steven Dickerson (615) 741-6679 sen.steven.dickerson@capitol.tn.gov
Ferrell Haile 615-741-1999 sen.ferrell.haile@capitol.tn.gov
Joey Hensley 615-741-3100 sen.joey.hensley@capitol.tn.gov
Jon Lundberg (615) 741-5761 sen.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov