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Raising the Charter School Cap in Massachusetts: The Consequence of an Uncapped Neoliberal Rationality
Semas-Schneeweis, Nicole L.
Semas-Schneeweis, Nicole L.
Abstract
In September 2015, Governor Charlie Baker announced his support for raising the charter school cap in Massachusetts. This announcement has sparked a heated debate about funding for public education that problematically ignores neoliberal ideology. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 began a reign of neoliberalism impacting education policies. An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap in 2010 saw an intensification of this privatization and free market ideology with its explicit support of charter alternatives. Achievement has become based on standardized assessments that presume a static, ethnocentric view of knowledge. Neoliberal ideology reinforces white Eurocentrism and a meritocratic rationale, disregarding the history and realities of black and brown students. In Massachusetts the Pioneer Institute, a conservative think tank to which Governor Charlie Baker has ties, is driving this current neoliberal reform agenda and is positioned to profit from privatization of the $600 million education industry.
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2018-03-01
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Massachusetts education policy, Neoliberalism, Neoliberal ideology, Charter Schools, Standardization, Privatization, Pioneer Institute, Free-market ideology, Eurocentrism, Meritocracy