Today, Gov. Hogan announced his decision to veto the Protect Our Schools Act, a widely supported bill that protects Maryland schools from privatization and creates a strong, transparent school accountability system.
Maryland State Education Association President Betty Weller released the following statement:
“Gov. Hogan’s veto of the Protect Our Schools Act isn’t out of left field, but it’s certainly out-of-touch. It’s profoundly frustrating that the governor refuses to stand with parent, educator, and civil rights groups in support of a smarter, more transparent approach to holding schools accountable, and instead stands with Betsy DeVos in attempting to privatize our public schools. It’s also inconsistent with the bipartisan agreement that an over-reliance on standardized testing has led our schools astray from what really matters for our kids.
“His decision is not just a political miscalculation, but much more importantly, a deeply flawed policy error. We are hopeful that the General Assembly will correct this mistake and override Gov. Hogan’s anti-public education veto.”
FACT-CHECK: The Protect Our Schools Act does not jeopardize any federal funding. The Attorney General has told legislators that nothing in the legislation conflicts with federal law. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, the Republican co-author of the Every Student Succeeds Act, told reporters at an event last week that: “My goal with [ESSA] was to return that debate and those decisions right where they are: to the Maryland state assembly in Annapolis. They should decide how much test results should factor into their accountability system.” The “guidelines” mentioned by Gov. Hogan in today’s press conference do not exist anymore—they have been repealed by Congress and President Trump.
Some of the many Maryland stakeholders supporting the Protect Our Schools Act include:
NAACP—Maryland State Conference
Maryland PTA
Parent Advocacy Consortium
CASA de Maryland
Disability Rights Maryland
Maryland State Education Association
ACLU of Maryland
AFT-Maryland
Baltimore Teachers Union
Advocates for Children and Youth
School Social Workers in Maryland
League of Women Voters
Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance
Attendance Works
Maryland Coalition for Community Schools
Maryland Out of School Time Network