People for the American Way, a public policy watchdog organization, has uncovered a number of grants from the U.S. Department of Education to pro-voucher organizations. In the past three years, the department has doled out more than $75 million to groups including the Black Alliance for Education Options, the Hispanic Council for Reform and Education Options, the Education Leaders Council, and the Center for Education Reform. The groups share a pro-privatization and pro-voucher perspective.
"This administration is sending millions of taxpayer dollars to groups that have been built by an interconnected network of right-wing foundations dedicated to privatizing education in America," said People for the American Way President Ralph G. Neas.
For more information, visit the organization's website at www.pfaw.org.
British Teachers
May Boycott
Standardized Tests
The United Kingdom's largest teachers' union will vote in mid-December on whether to boycott their national standardized tests, called the SATs.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) General Secretary Doug McAvoy told the BBC, "[T]here is a compelling educational argument for getting rid of the SATs. I don't think it will be difficult to persuade parents and governors that these tests are useless and there are ways of assessing pupils that are better for pupils, teachers, and parents."