Jeb Bush group, ALEC and James Madison Institute to present report card, briefing on “student learning options”
Readers can get divergent views of Florida’s education reform work — and the work of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s educational foundation — tomorrow.One group is set to publicly criticize former Bush’s foundation tomorrow afternoon. A little earlier in the day, it turns out, another group will be hosting one of the foundation’s senior advisors for an event that seeks to showcase the state of American education and highlight how to improve student learning here in the Sunshine State.The James Madison Institute in Tallahassee is holding a “policy briefing” tomorrow that will feature the “ALEC Report Card on Education” and a presentation by foundation advisor on “students’ learning options.”The advisor, Matthew Ladner, is on staff with Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education and also wrote the past two ALEC report cards. ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, is a conservative group that pushes for education reform (among other issues).Ladner is to present this year’s report card at the event. Last year, the report card gave Florida a B+ for its education reform policies and ranked it 12th in the nation based on student performance.Alec is a controversial group in some circles, sometimes accused of almost secretly influencing lawmakers.But tomorrow’s presentation — given during National School Choice Week –looks to be mostly delivered to people with like-minded views on public education.The James Madison Institutes’s policy briefing encourages boosting charter school funding, eliminating “barriers” to online education, implementing a “parent trigger” law and adopting “educational savings accounts,” what some have dubbed “vouchers for all.”
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