This letter was written by Rita M. Solnet, one of the founders of Parents Across America, in response to a letter from Students First, asking her to support the so-called “Parent Empowerment Act,” a form of the Parent Trigger, which is really a stealth attack by charter industry to privatize our public schools. See the PAA position paper on the Parent Trigger, here and here for the overwhelming rejection of this proposal by Florida parent groups.
To: Jeri Powell, Students First Org; Michelle Rhee, Founder, Students First Org
I am a Florida parent and I am offended by this solicitation to sign your Students First.org petition (below) so that I can be “empowered” with Florida’s proposed legislation.
This bill no more empowers me than it does the gecko on my patio from taking over my home.
This bill empowers organizations like Parent Revolution who aggressively promote the closing of schools and the expansion of selected charter schools.
This bill empowers those who promote hostility between parents and teachers and principals. I thought that was one of your basic concepts — to develop healthy, working relationships with teachers and schools. This does the exact opposite of that no matter how you slice it.
This bill empowers charter organizers to rabble rouse and incite conflict, to divide communities, to divide teachers and principals too. I prefer not to attend contentious PTA meetings which resemble WWE episodes.
This bill preys upon low income parents and I find that despicable.
This bill will do more to advance segregation than anything I’ve seen thus far. That is repulsive.
Have you not read or learned about the parent trigger’s embarrassing failure(s) in California. It created hostility among neighbors that will take years to remedy.
Parent Revolution was flown in from California by Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education to testify on behalf of the Florida Parent Empowerment Bill last week. Much like last year when your leader was flown in to testify on behalf of Senate Bill 736 so that moneyless merit pay could be enacted.
There was no opposing view permitted to be included when it was well known that opposing views existed. Why? If this whizbang bill is so spectacular why wouldn’t it stand up to opposing view?
If you were truly putting Students “first,” you would use your vast amount of resources which support your organization to work FOR the parents of Florida. You should insist that parents be heard in the State’s testimony.
I am disappointed in what Students First has evolved to stand for now. I believed it was for students and parents and high quality education.
In sending out this ‘Dear Florida Parent’ broadcast message, you must have researched the situation in Florida first.
If researched, you would find that at least nine (9) large parent coalitions united to issue Press Releases, give radio interviews, and news conferences opposing FL’s “Parent Empowerment” Bill, including the Florida PTA and Parents Across America.
Florida parents do not want the Parent Empowerment Bill nor the parent trigger concept. The FL School Board Association will be issuing a statement shortly, I’m told, also in opposition to this billl The FSBA comprises FL parents too!
This bill is a hoax to further privatize our public schools.
Furthermore, Florida’s public schools are not owned by the parents whose children currently occupy its buildings.
Florida’s public schools are owned by the taxpayers who built the schools and by the parents who supported and volunteered in those schools and by the parents who will have children attending those schools as well.
You are wrong to promote this.
I won’t stand at the sidelines to watch our School Districts forced to spend their dwindling budgets on lawsuits created by this contentious law. Nor will I stand by while our elected School Board members are stripped of their constitutional powers. Nor will I permit this bill to further advance segregation in my state.
The parents of Florida will continue to oppose it vigorously.
Sincerely, Rita M. Solnet
Thanks, Rita. Let’s hope you get a response.
Thank you Diane.
Those solicitation letters are chock full of propaganda and I’m tired of it.
This is probably the reason these lawmakers are confused. They’re being totally misled.
I’m also concerned that there are other clauses buried in that Parent Empowerment Bill that were not even discussed at the Senate Hearing and they have more of an impact on EVERY school in FL.
Has to do with labeling teachers as “ineffective” then mandating that Districts must tell parents about “ineffective” teachers, then recommending those parents switch their children to Virtual Schools.
Go girl! Keep up the pressure and some day our kids will win
Thank you Rita, this ” parents empowerment bill” is another attack to public education, another way to close public schools and to fire teachers, and destroy the dignity and value of the educators. I hope those parents opposed to this bill that may become a law in florida, will speak up, and help to stop it.We can’t let legislators with no background on education to continue listening to those business men and make laws to help them get richer at the children’s education expenses
I teach in NY, but am happy to see the same war on honesty in the drive to privatize isn’t just here. Rhee’s organization would have people believe that the biggest hurdle to students success is an experienced, supported and fairly treated teacher. The discussion over what the”free” competitive market has already done to kids and their struggling families, and the value of the remaining stable and nurturing influences (their public school and a staff that is familiar) is absent.
The PR is orchestrated, and truth is not welcome. I also heard there was a recent gathering of ALEC connected education strategists on a nice little island (was it Amelia Island?) off Fla. No press, no public, no teachers, no students… This isn’t reform, it’s war strategy and they drive policy with their direct connection to our “democracy”. Education is meant to equip citizens to fight tyranny, and what we’re seeing isn’t tyranny I don’t know what is.
As other states consider parent trigger laws, they should be made aware that California’s trigger bill was poorly understood by the legislators that approved it. It was part of a very rushed bill to qualify the state for Race to the Top funds. The drafting, hearings and passage took place between Thanksgiving and early January. The trigger was smuggled in via the RTTT trojan horse.
Most legislators will share privately that it was a huge mistake.
I am a Dad who lives in Folsom, CA, and I would like to see K12 Education be fully restructured, de-unionized, teachers to be rated on experience/performance/credentials, removing layers of bureaucracy, and keeping and rewarding the excellent teachers and removing the bad. I would also like to assist in building a nationwide website state by state, district by district, school by school, to rate teachers by the above information and allow teachers, parents and children to grade their teachers. This site should also connected to studentsfirst and the lobbying in Washington, D.C. to restructure our public schools, let parents know how to get help for their children under every type or combination of disabilities, etc. I am motivated, driven, have my own graphic design, web development, and internet marketing team and have 25 years of experience in small business ownership in IT and Construction Project Management, General Construction, and Network Engineering – I want to help better our education for our children. I would like to help build a very complex website to assist in change and help begin to build the date necessary to help the cause in conjunction with Michelle Rhee’s and StudentsFirst.org’s goals – let me know if you are interested in working together or how I get involved please?
My goodness, did you not comprehend what was written? You have been sucked into the propaganda hook, line and sinker. Michelle Rhee could care less about the kids.
Rita, Thank you very much for this article and for your support of quality public education in the United States.
I am a strong supporter of quality public education, and think that diverting our tax dollars to the greedy big corporations running private charter schools is immoral and UnAmerican.
In spite of that, I was duped into signing one of the petitions on studentsfirst.org by the deceptive language. I bet that 95% of those signing those petitions – and donating to “Students First” – believe, like I originally did, that the organization actually supported better public education.
I was shocked later, and chagrined, to discover that “students First” is a charade – and in my opinion a fraud and scam – funded by the private charter school industry to destroy public education in the United States.