A network supported by the nation’s largest teacher union, the National Education Association (NEA), will be launching an anti-school choice campaign Jan. 22 during National School Choice Week.
School choice advocate Corey DeAngelis shared that the Partnership for the Future of Learning (PFL) sent out an “embargoed toolkit” set to release Jan. 22. The network is housed under the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, according to the PFL website. (RELATED: Red State Legislature Rejects School Choice Proposal, Removes It From Education Bill)
The toolkit says that these “private school voucher programs use public funds to pay for private education” and claims there is “overwhelming evidence they are harmful public policy, and that these “voucher programs” are “deeply rooted in segregation, racism and discrimination.”
SCOOP: A group backed by the nation’s largest teachers union is launching a campaign against school choice on Monday, during National School Choice Week.
They sent out an embargoed toolkit with messaging and their main tactic is… wait for it… to call school choice racist 🤣 pic.twitter.com/iIwC9PWsOy
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) January 18, 2024
However, school choice advocates argue many of the school choice bills passing in state legislatures around the country, known as education savings accounts, are not vouchers, according to The Heritage Foundation.
The network’s Truth in Education Funding website shows the NEA as one of the “partnering organizations.” The NEA and NEA Foundation are also listed under PFL’s network list.
The Truth in Education Funding aims to train individuals to understand “voucher policies,” connect with organizations to be able to combat these programs, and give examples from organizations that have “successfully defeated” these school choice programs, according to its website.
It also claims school choice programs “allow discrimination by private education providers based on characteristics such as disability status, religion, and sexual orientation and gender identity” and increase “racial isolation” and lead to “worse educational outcomes for students,” its website reads.
“School Vouchers programs are gaining traction as more and more states adopt these policies.”
The teachers unions are terrified. pic.twitter.com/qt5Rpf1PZl
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) January 18, 2024
“The teachers unions are terrified,” DeAngelis said in another tweet.