In 1994, the Clinton administration started a small federal program and funded it with $4.5 million to help launch new charter schools. At the time, charter schools were a new idea, and there were not many of them. The first charter school had opened in Minnesota in 1991, and six states passed laws authorizing charters in 1992. In 1994, the idea was too new to have produced results or research. So Congress allocated a measly $4.5 million.
In the 26 years since the federal Charter Schools Program started, the charter idea has burgeoned into an industry with state charter school associations, lobbyists in D.C. and in state capitols, and support from numerous foundations, billionaires, corporations, and Wall Street. There is considerable research about charters as well as controversy surrounding their methods of selecting and retaining or excluding students. Charters now enroll 6% of the nation’s students.
Two things are clear:
1. The charter sector today is very well funded by billionaire patrons such as the Walton Family Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe abroad Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, and Netflix founder Reed Hastings. It has no need of federal funding.
2. Some charters get high test scores (and are accused of skimming to get the “best” students), some get the worst scores in their states, and most get scores about the same as public schools with similar demographics. In the one all-charter district in the nation, New Orleans, about half the schools are rated D or F by the state. Although the charter industry sings their praises, it’s clear that charters have no secret sauce to lift up every child.
Yet despite the fact that charters have a huge number of financial angels with very deep pockets, despite the fact that they do not solve the deep-seated problems of American education, despite their spotty academic record, funding for the Federal Charter Schools Program has grown to $440 million per year.
Under Betsy DeVos, the CSP has become her personal slush fund to help The expansion of large corporate charter chains, like KIPP and IDEA. The original idea that the federal funds would launch entrepreneurial start-ups is long forgotten.
About two weeks ago, DeVos released the latest CSP funds and again favored the big corporate charter chains, which have many millions in reserve and long lists of billionaire patrons.
DeVos handed out the first $200 million to her favorite chain, IDEA, which has no financial need. IDEA won $72 million, having previously received more than $200 million from DeVos. IDEA, you may recall, is known for its lavish spending. Its board approved the lease of a private jet for nearly $2 million a year, but had to cancel the lease because of adverse publicity in Texas, where the chain is based. Its CEO hired a private jet to take him to meet with DeVos in Florida; he was the only passenger. The chain’s executives,lacking their own jet, are allowed to fly first class with their families, not exactly like public school employees on official travel.
The second biggest winner was Mater Academy, which won $57 million. It is affiliated with the for-profit (and very rich) Florida for-profit chain Academica.
The Network for Public Education published two reports about the CSP in 2019, documenting that the program is shot through with waste, fraud, and abuse. About 40% of the charters funded by CSP either never opened or closed not long after opening. The loss of federal funds was $1 billion. The first report—Asleep at the Wheel— is here. The second report—Still Asleep at the Wheel—is here.
Tom Ultican reviewed the two NPE reports and recounted Betsy DeVos’s unsurprising hostile response to them. Why would she relinquish control over $440 million, which helps corporate chains that divert money from public schools and advances DeVos’s long-term goal of wrecking the foundations of public education?
It is ironic that the Trump administration in its now forgotten budget for the coming year proposed to eliminate the federal Charter Schools Program by folding it and 28 other federal programs into a bloc grant to the states. At the same time, Trump and DeVos proposed The creation of a multi-billion dollar voucher program. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives made clear that these proposals were Dead on Arrival. Nonetheless, the charter lobbyists were shocked to discover that charter schools are just a stepping-stone to vouchers for DeVos.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Although the Obama administration was clearly charter friendly, my understanding is that the federal funding that charters received during the 8 years of Obama was a small pittance compared to the money they received during the 3 years of Trump.
That is truly appalling that the election of Trump resulted in charters getting so much money they can survive for years, while public schools may be bankrupt because of COVID-19.
The Trump Administration is so biased against public schools one would have to be blind (or a member of the ed reform echo chamber) not to see it.
Go review any of DeVos’ speeches or comments- 100% negative towards public schools and public school students and 100% lavishing praise on charter and private schools and those students.
It’s really unfair and it’s also not an accurate depiction of either public schools or public school students, but it advances her ideological goals so she’s more than happy to throw our schools and kids under the bus.
All you have to do is read ed reformers to see the anti-public school bias. It is in every op ed, every think piece, ever speech. I think it’s such a siloed echo chamber at this point that they don’t recognize it themselves.
How is it fair to public school students to have the President of the United States sneering at them during a State of the Union address? It’s just shocking that this is accepted in ed reform circles. Would they encourage this if the President and the US Secretary of Education were attacking charter or private schools? Of course not. Yet NOT ONE of them will defend or advocate on behalf of the 90% of students who DON’T attend the charter and private schools they prefer.
She has been able to use her office as pulpit that is pro-privatization and anti-public education. It is a disgrace that our tax dollars are funding this propaganda campaign.
I would ask ed reformers to imagine if government officials were denigrating and attacking charter and private schools the way DeVos and the Trump Administration and Jeb Bush and the rest of the ideological fellow travelers attack public schools and public school students.
It would never happen because the entire ed reform echo chamber would rise up in outrage, yet attacking public schools and students is just standard language in governmental ed reform circles- they all endorse it. How is this fair to public school students?
We’re paying these public employees to (supposedly) improve our schools. Have they done any of that? Is there some reason we’re paying thousands of people in government to act as public school critics? Is this what they were hired for?
What value are they adding to the 90% of students who attend public schools? Any reason we should continue to hire people who are opposed to public schools and put them on the public payroll?
If ed reformers don’t advocate on behalf of students in public schools and instead work exclusively on behalf of the charters and private schools that fit their ideological goals, then can we GET some advocates for children in public schools, or is that forbidden too?
Since they’re not doing the job can public school supporters at least find and assemble their own advocates? If not, why not?
Since we have so many powerful people advocating exclusively on behalf of charter and private school students, it seems only fair that public school supporters should also have advocates.
Do public school students not deserve effective and committed advocates? Why not?
As it is now we have 1. charter school promoters and advocates, 2. private school vouchers promoters and advocates and 3. public school critics.
Do ed reformers see that’s inequitable and leaves public school students with no advocates? It’s unfair. It means 90% of kids in the country have no one working on their behalf in government. That’s nuts.
This is all just so SICK.
Sorry, the DFERS DON’T get a pass and neither does the gop.
It baffles the mind how some Democrats can be so easily duped by Republicans, and also how callously greedy Republicans can be.
It’s good to have connections, ain’t it? We just a half hour ago took delivery of two cases of crayons, pencils, paper, modeling material, and other goodies that my wife is now bagging up for the students in her pre-K class. She spent over $300 of her own money to give activity kits to her kids (almost all of them are on free lunch). Do charter school teachers have to do this? Dear Betsy, if I send the receipts, could you pick up half that tab?