Charter authorizers group slips quietly out ALEC's back door

No sooner had I posted about the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) relationship with ALEC, then I received this NACSA press announcement via Business Wire.

Our work with ALEC has been focused entirely on promoting excellent charter schools. As part of our annual review processes, however, we determined that alternative strategies would be more effective in achieving these policy objectives. Thus we will not be renewing our membership in ALEC when it expires next month.”

If there ever was a more cowardly statement or a more unethical stand taken by an education group, I haven't seen it. When first questioned by Huffington writer Ziad Jilani, about NACSA's current participation in ALEC, using public school money to pay their ALEC bills, director Greg Richmond refused to comment. The implication being that the charter school group's affiliation ended long before the recent exposure of ALEC as a far-right, racist, and anti-union consortium of corporate interests.

Instead of leaving ALEC in protest, and not wanting to offend the corporate patrons who pay his salary, Richmond opts for the tepid statement above and letting his now-admitted membership in ALEC run out in June.

If any more evidence was needed to show that the current network of  private charter school operators and their lobbyists are little more than conduit for corporate interests, as opposed to serving the interests of public education, here it is.