Lamberth-Watson’s Cruelty Defeated

The Education Wars picked up the story of a cruel bill that sought to deny education to the children of immigrants based on the legal status of their parents. The measure, led by Sen. Bo Watson and Rep. William Lamberth, did not advance despite the persistence of its two leading advocates.

Then there is Tennessee, where odious legislation that would have given public schools the right to turn away undocumented students, or charge them tuition, collapsed this week due to widespread opposition. A broad coalition of groups, sixty five strong, including the Tennessee Chapter of NAACP, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) — one of my favorite grassroots organizing groups—and an array of immigrant rights organizations helped bring this thing down.

Local school officials played a key role too. The Hamilton County School Board, representing the largest school system in the home district of Bo Watson, the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, voted unanimously to condemn the legislation last week, and every one of the district’s 79 school principals came out in opposition.

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Pastors Dismayed as Senate Votes for Anti-Immigrant Education Bill

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A group of Tennessee pastors affiliated with the Southern Christian Coalition is speaking out against cruel anti-immigrant legislation sponsored by Senator Bo Watson and Rep. William Lamberth. The measure passed the Senate this week.

In a statement released to the media, the group explained their opposition to the measure that would allow public schools and charter schools to refused to educate the children of immigrants unless they can prove their legal status.

Rev. Monica Mowdy, United Methodist minister and former educator, said:

“As a Christian pastor and former teacher, I believe the words of Jesus when He tells us to care for the vulnerable and the children in our communities. I’m ashamed that Senator Bailey’s vote yesterday was in direct violation of our call as Christians. He refused to even hear the concerns of a constituent and pastor he’s represented for over 20 years.”

The group expressed hope that the vote will go differently in the House:

“It’s my hope and prayer that things go quite differently in the House,” said Rev. Mowdy. “We are called, above all, to love our neighbor and protect the vulnerable. This bill fails that test.”

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From NewsBreak:

Rev. Jean Norton of Madison, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, released a video statement explaining her opposition.

“My faith tells me that we are to support and welcome the least among us, and among the most vulnerable are children,”

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Take the Money and Run

If school districts don’t do what House Majority Leader William Lamberth wants, he’s going to take their money and run. Seriously. It’s actually pretty much the text of HB7021.

As introduced, the bill says that if districts fail to provide at least 70 days of in-person instruction for students in grades K-8 in the 2020-21 academic year and 180 days in the 2021-22 academic year, the Commissioner of Education may withhold all or a part of that district’s BEP funds.

I mean, I wrote a few days ago about carrots and sticks, but this is taking it a bit far.

It’s not clear to me what Lamberth hopes to accomplish by this other than forcing districts to make a decision to return to in-person learning at a time when COVID is still surging in our state.

Here’s the deal: Districts can’t take the risk they’d lose any BEP money. In fact, the BEP is inadequate (by $1.7 billion) as it is. So, it’s not like there’s tons of extra cash sitting around and districts can just ignore this ridiculous request.

While most people agree that in-person learning is the best possible climate for students, especially in grades K-8, not dying or carrying COVID home to parents is also a worthy outcome.

The bill appears designed to force districts like Memphis and Nashville, both of which have been and are still completely virtual in all grades, to return to in-person learning. In other words, Lamberth wants to overturn the will of the district leaders and school boards in these two cities (and others that have made similar moves).

It’s interesting that this bill comes even as Gov. Lee revealed his not so special legislative session legislative package last week. That package of bills includes a number of unfunded mandates. So, Lamberth is going to take money from districts that put student safety first and Lee is going to hit those same districts with a host of unfunded mandates. Makes tons of sense!

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Voucher Backers Earn Leadership Roles

While it is certainly clear that incoming Governor Bill Lee is a supporter of using public money to fund private schools by way of vouchers, it’s also worth noting that top leadership in both legislative bodies have a record of supporting school vouchers and receiving support from pro-voucher groups.

Soon-to-be House Speaker Glen Casada has long been a proponent of vouchers and has received thousands of dollars in campaign funding from groups like Students First/TennesseeCAN and the Betsy DeVos-backed Tennessee Federation for Children.

Likewise, newly-elected House Republican (and Majority) Leader William Lamberth has consistently received backing from pro-voucher groups.

Over in the Senate, the Lt. Governor’s spot continues to be held by Randy McNally, a long-time supporter of voucher schemes.

The number two job in the Senate again falls to Ferrell Haile of Sumner County, who between 2012 and 2016 was among the largest recipients (more than $20,000) of campaign backing from pro-voucher groups. Haile has also co-sponsored voucher legislation in spite of his local School Board opposing the measure.

The bottom line: The hot topic in the 2019 legislative session figures to be school vouchers.

One key fact to keep in mind as this debate rages: Vouchers don’t work.

What’s more, Indiana’s experience with what started as a relatively small voucher program quickly ballooned into millions of dollars in public money diverted to private schools:

Reports suggest this provision means Indiana is spending some $54 million supporting private schools — money that would not have been spent without the voucher program:

A report on the program released by the Department of Education shows the program costs $54 million.

“If the idea behind a voucher program is we’re going to have the money follow the student, if the student didn’t start in a public school, the money isn’t following them from a public school, it’s just appearing from another budget,” [Researcher Molly] Stewart said. “And we’re not exactly sure where that’s coming from.”

Vouchers, then, create $54 million in new expenditures — an education funding deficit — in Indiana.

So, even as our state’s policy leaders are squarely in the corner of voucher schemes — some bought and paid for by voucher backers, others, like Bill Lee, among those doing the buying — it’s important to stay focused on the facts. Vouchers are expensive and vouchers don’t work.

 

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Lamberth: Stop the Test

In response to the latest failure to deliver TNReady, State Representative William Lamberth issued the following statement via his Facebook page:

I have lost faith in Measurement Inc. and I believe it is time to cancel the test for this year and start over. Local school districts who have received the material should have the option of going forward with testing or not at their discretion. I agree that we need a TN specific test that is designed to evaluate how well TN children are learning certain subjects. That test should be designed by TN teachers and TN administrators to be easily implemented and should reflect what is actually being relayed in our classrooms. TN contracted with this company to accomplish this task and they have failed miserably in delivering a computerized version and now can’t even ship the paper version on time. It is time to start over. Measurement Inc. has failed TN teachers and TN students and should not get one red cent of our money. That’s just my opinion.

While the Department of Education has said it will grant districts flexibility in modifying testing schedules, they have not yet said they will cancel the tests or the contract with Measurement, Inc.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport