Half a year after the showdown in Wisconsin began, it is clear that the war is broadening and intensifying. I just got my coattail pulled to the latest attacks on public schools and teachers rolling forward in Michigan.
Many Kossacks will know about the Emergency Financial manager package and the $1 billion in cuts to K-12 education. Maybe you even heard about the
tenure “reform” package that eliminated due process and just cause for dismissals, eliminated seniority, added a list of prohibited subjects of bargaining, and imposed an evaluation system that will require 50% of a teacher’s evaluation be based on test scores.
This week has seen the introduction of a new dog's breakfast of bills.
The package of bills unleashed this week will do the following: allow for the privatization of all educators, removes the 150 charter school cap, allows community colleges to charter in Detroit, expands “cyber” schools and seat time requirements for students, creates and defines “conversion” charter schools (parents can petition for their school to be a charter school), expands the list of services that public schools can provide to parochial schools, and expands schools of choice.
In addition there are bills that were introduced this week which prohibit districts from deduction of union dues, and that create a third tier of retirement where new hires will only be allowed to be part of a defined contribution plan (eliminating pensions from employees hired after July 2011)...
And on Thursday, it was reported that Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville plans to introduce something called “Right to Teach” which is a right to work law aimed just at teachers.
And if you don't think that this stuff could possibly pass, you must really like to walk on the sunny side of the street.
The brief report I have excerpted above was posted at my friend Fred's education blog. The author thinks these attacks are Republican revenge for teacher support for the recalls going forward in Michigan. That's certainly an element, but none of these legislative initiatives are new either; all have been floated over the last several years.
I trust that Michigan-based teachers and politics junkies here can flesh this diary out (and hope to hell they can controvert it).