As the next round of hand-wringing over the Democratic race commences, those of us who are focused on education policy have our own questions.
First, why, when Democrats need a broad coalition of Latino and African-American voters, are our candidates shying away from an issue that consistently ranks at the top of those voters’ concerns — access to high-quality education?
And, second, why is no one calling out the flip-flops and hypocrisy in Bernie Sanders’ record on education? It reinforces his greatest perceived weakness — that he is incapable of putting together the diverse coalition necessary to win. And it undermines his greatest strength — the perception that he is ideologically consistent.
EDITORIAL: SANDERSIZING AMERICA
Sanders recently said that he is opposed to public charter schools because they undermine democracy and our competitiveness by diverting money from public education. This flawed argument ignores that public charters are public schools, and glosses over the life-changing outcomes produced by charters around the country.
In South Carolina — a major test for both campaigns — families are embracing these new educational opportunities by the thousands. Since 2007, the state’s public charter sector has seen 100% growth, with nearly 30,000 students attending 68 public charters.
In communities like Newark, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., public charters have helped to improve test scores and graduation rates, particularly in poor and minority communities that have too often been overlooked.
Sanders used to get it — in 1998, as a congressman, he voted in favor of the bipartisan Charter School Expansion Act. That same year, he entered testimony in the Congressional Record from a ninth-grade student who emphasized that public charters “open up (options) for disadvantaged students.” But fast-forward to 2016, and he’s apparently done an about-face.
SANDERS RELEASES NEW AD FEATURING ERIC GARNER’S DAUGHTER
On accountability, Sanders can’t decide if we should “monitor student performance to ensure our children, parents and educators are receiving the support they need” (April 2015) or if “high-stakes standardized testing” and “Draconian interventions” are taking over our schools (May 2015).
And in spending billions to make college free, Sanders focuses on funding, not outcomes. His plan is mostly about the adults — not about whether colleges should be pressed to improve graduation rates for economically disadvantaged and minority students.
Sanders’ educational platform is also out of touch with the electorate. Public charters are especially popular among African-American and Latino voters, who support parent choice to the tune of 60% and 70% respectively. On accountability, more than 60% of all voters support clear metrics to track what is working in our schools, and over 80% support benchmarks to measure classroom effectiveness.
Which is not to suggest that Hillary Clinton is perfect on these issues. When she was asked about charter schools in South Carolina last fall — and said charters “don’t take the hardest-to-teach kids” or don’t keep them if they do — we were troubled. But she has since reasserted her support for charters and has been open to these reforms that are working for kids.
Sanders, meanwhile, has doubled down on his anti-reform stance and otherwise ignored pressing K-12 issues throughout this campaign. For someone who professes to care about social justice, that is beyond troubling. It is disingenuous.
Sanders talks much about how he marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to challenge a status quo that perpetuated racial inequities. Sadly, two generations later, Sanders now stands with an educational status quo that in some cases produces inequities in educational outcomes worse than those produced during Jim Crow. It is unfortunate that Sanders’ railing against the machine stops at the schoolhouse door.
Jeffries is president of Democrats for Education Reform.
