Urgent: Stop Federally Funded Charter Expansion
It is time for a moratorium on the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP). As Congress prepares the next budget, we need to let members know enough is enough.
Click here to tell Congress not to fund the CSP in the 2022 budget.
Right now, there are bills in seven states that would either establish charter schools or greatly expand them. This is in addition to additional bills to expand vouchers.
Right-wing Libertarians, funded by DeVos and the Koch network, are committed to destroying public education. And while they may prefer vouchers, charter schools are certainly part of their plan.
Send your email here.
Here is the bottom line. The federal government should not be in the business of funding new charter schools, and as our two reports on the CSP demonstrate, the CSP program is rife with waste and abuse–funding schools that do not open, those that open and shut down, and those with policies designed to exclude disadvantaged students. As our latest report on for-profits shows, the CSP has generously supported the start-up of for-profit-run schools as well.
Send your email and then call your representatives in Congress. You can find your Representative’s phone number here and your Senators’ numbers here.
Below is a script you can use.
My name is [name], and I am calling to ask [Representative] to eliminate funding for the Charter Schools Program in the 2022 budget. The program has wasted approximately one billion dollars on schools the never opened or that have shut down.
In addition, it lacks quality control and real accountability. It has funded charter schools run by for-profits, schools that do not participate in the federal lunch program, and schools that make special education students unwelcome. The program should be defunded in 2022. Thank you.
Please act today.