Union Attack on Charter Schools

In Delaware, the teacher's union has been engineering a subversive attack on charter schools. The Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) commissioned a report with findings and recommendations.

The 38-page report makes seven recommendations, including not to "attack
charters directly," make funding the main reason for restricting the number of
charters and "use teachers to carry the message."

Don't expect the teacher's union to make a frontal assault on charter schools -- not when they're so popular with parents and teachers. Speaking negatively about charter schools would never work.

Instead, "limit the number of charters," which in Delaware means putting a moratorium on the number of approved charter applications and keeping the focus on districts' losing money. Other strategies could include:

• Limiting the number of authorizers, or eviscerating alternative authorizers;
• Raising the application approval bar so high that almost no one can meet the requirements (all in the name of holding high standards, of course); and
• Ensuring that heavy-handed authorizers retain total control in both the big things and little things.

Oh, but that might sound like Colorado and not Delaware...