The Danger With Charters--States Need To Learn Lessons From Texas

For years we have been warned by those in Texas who are suffering from the door that was opened for Islamic charter schools.  Here are important articles to bring you up to speed:

Phyllis Schlafly article on 4-9-12--Please read in entirety but here is an excerpt:

In Texas, 36 Turkish charter schools, called the Harmony Network, have received over $100 million in government funds. These schools now have 290 (mostly Turkish) employees on H-1B visas, about 16 percent of its workforce.

In Inver Grove Heights, Minn., a substitute teacher named Amanda Getz reported about what goes on inside a charter school called Tarek Ibn Ziyad Academy, TIZA. TIZA is a K-through-8th-grade charter school funded by U.S. taxpayers and sponsored by Islamic Relief.

The teacher says there is no clear division between the subjects studied during school and the study of the Quran after school. She says that homework assignments for after-school religious instruction are written on the board right alongside assignments for math and social studies.

Getz says she was informed that, on Fridays, the Muslim holy day, there would be a school assembly in the gym after lunch. She was instructed to take her students before the assembly to the bathroom, four at a time, for “ritual washing,” and afterwards “teachers led the kids into the gym, where a man dressed in white with a white cap” led the students in Muslim prayers.

Visit an expert on this issue--Peyton Wolcott's website is full of great info of what happened in Texas and beyond.

Warning for Alabamians from State Board Member Betty Peters--"The latest AL legislation says on p. 53, lines 24 thru 27, “Employees of a public charter school, as well as members of the governing board of a public charter school, shall demonstrate to the authorizer of the public charter school that they are citizens of or lawfully present...”  Unless the  phrase “or lawfully present” is removed, foreign citizens can serve as members of an AL public charter schools’ governing board.  Can foreign citizens who are in AL legally serve as a board member of any of our existing county or city public schools or on the state school board?  Why in the world would we want to make exceptions for public charter schools and open ourselves up to groups like the Gulen charter schools? "

Why the hurry?  Let's get this right.  Please call or better still go to the Senate Committee hearing on Tues April 17th at 1:30 pm in Montgomery on the 8th floor Room 807 Conference Room and let your legislators see your concern.  Come an hour earlier if you want to sign in to be able to speak.

Here is a link to Alabama SB 513--see wording on bottom of page 55-56

Here is a link to Alabama HB 650--see wording on bottom of page 53-54

(When clicking on link --it will say something about session ended-login--just hit ok and file shows up)

For those in Alabama concerned--please call (334) 242-7800 Senate and (334) 242-7600 House

Hear interview with Mrs. Betty Peters