Wednesday, May 23, 2012

NEW REPORT: Virtual Schools Failing in Texas, Despite Corporate Support

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Phillip Martin" <Alert@progresstexas.org>
Date: May 23, 2012 4:31 PM
Subject: NEW REPORT: Virtual Schools Failing in Texas, Despite Corporate Support
To: <billstaceytaylor0591@gmail.com>

Progress Texas


Stacey,

We are excited to announce the release of our latest report on ALEC titled Invisible Schools, Invisible Success (download the report) that exposes the lack of accountability in the virtual school movement in Texas, how taxpayer dollars are padding bottom lines, and how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its home-away-from-home, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), are promoting failed corporate education at the expense of Texas students and taxpayers.

The report examines who is promoting virtual schools through ALEC, how those corporations are tied to Texas, the evolution of virtual schools in Texas, and why virtual schools don’t work. The report also contains a point-by-point exposure of the latest virtual school paper published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, who last week penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating their proud support of ALEC, even though 15 corporations and 51 elected officials – Republicans and Democrats – have already left this corporate bill factory.

In Texas, for-profit education companies are attacking Texas public schools, promoting virtual schools, and putting profits ahead of the education needs of Texas children. These virtual schools are largely unaccountable to Texas taxpayers, despite the fact that their students receive the exact same amount of funding as students who attend traditional public schools. In fact, virtual school students are funded at the same level as traditional public school students thanks to a law passed by Republican Senate Education Chair Florence Shapiro, who sits on ALEC's Education Task Force which is Co-chaired by employees of private companies that own and operate virtual schools in Texas.

The virtual school movement is a $24 billion industry with zero accountability. Virtual schools provide unregulated financial windfalls to a few insiders by shortchanging our children’s education.

Please help us get this report in front of us many people as possible. The more attention we can shine on this issue, the more statewide and local media will cover the truth about ALEC, TPPF and the for-profit virtual school movement. That's why TPPF and Senator Shapiro are attacking us and you without even reading the report we have written.

Click here to read the report

Click here to share the report on Facebook

Click here to share the report on Twitter

Conservatives are getting scared of our work and your voice. In 2012, Ted Cruz has called you a lynch mob, Rick Perry has called us hypocrites, and Fox News corespondent Michelle Malkin called us "militant." They can't deny the facts, so they are resorting to childish name calling. We are fighting back and we are winning.

As we have toured the state talking about ending corporate influence in our elections, people continue to ask us how they can get more involved. We are starting to develop a clean elections task force to push for campaign finance reform and end the over reach from Citizen's United in our great state. Join that task force today and make sure every Texan has an equal voice. Together we will make them pay attention to us.

Sincerely,

Phillip Martin
Political Director


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