Why The Charter School Industry Has Become as Big a Threat to Public Education as Common Core

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In many parts of the country, unregulated, Corporate controlled charters are as big a threat to public education as Common Core. They represent crony capitalism at its worst, building on insider deals with politicians to legitimize high CEO salaries, private real estate deals, exemption from regulations that protect students and teachers from abusive practices and sometimes, outright theft of government funds and toleration of testing practices which border on cheating. Anyone who thinks this is your mother or father's charter school movement, which gave parents and teachers options to create community based schools, has not observed what has happened in the last ten years as this unregulated "industry" has become a huge outlet for investment by the nation''s Billionaires and Celebrities. Everywhere you look the families and friends of politicians have cashed in on the opportunities the charter industry offers for personal enrichment. You want to look at a classic case of where government power and corporate power reinforce one another- you don't have to just look at Common Core. The Charter School Industry also fits that description to a tee.