Partitioned Public Education

Caste-based segregation of the school system has always been what the charter movement was all about. Anyone who tells you different is either blind or an asshole.

House Bill 421 by Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, would allow corporations to secure spots on charter governing boards and reserve student enrollment slots for children of employees. To qualify, a corporation would have to donate the parcel on which the school is built, donate an existing building for the school's use or pay for major renovations to an existing school building. The corporation could lay claim to up to half of the enrollment spaces in the school and control up to 50 percent of the seats of the governing board. The measure includes a caveat that the bill could not be used to displace students who are already enrolled.

The committee's 12-2 vote sends the bill, which Gov. Bobby Jindal supports, to the House floor.

Good God the thing passed committee 12-2. Of course we already knew most of the slots in the Louisiana Legislature are wholly owned corporate property. I guess they're just applying that model to the schools.