NJ Education Report

Between “Don’t Say Gay” in Florida and “Drag Queen Story-Telling” for New Jersey first-graders (featured at last week’s NJEA Convention: see photo above), you’d think America is ruptured by a battle about what students should learn about race, gender identity, and sex in schools.

Yet, judging by the 2022 midterm results, that’s not true: Indeed, American parents, regardless of party affiliation, tend to have have  moderate views on what is appropriate course content (although there’s a growing consensus on the importance of expanding school choice) and united on the need for an emphasis on core academic skills.

Extremists on either side should take note. “[Last] week’s election results,” says  the  Washington Post, “called into question the power of culture war education politics.”  This NPR poll found that parents, both Republican and Democratic, are satisfied with how schools handle controversial issues. A July poll from ERN found voters think both parties are too focused on race and gender issues  instead of “helping students get back on track.” Also, a Rasmussen poll found the Democratic Party’s long-time advantage on education has eroded, probably related to unnecessarily long Covid school closures and attendant student learning loss.

So maybe extremists on either side—whether you’re a Moms for Liberty fan or an NJEA leader devoted to “disrupting normative structures”— should take a deep breath. Let’s put the culture wars aside (can we possibly leave gender identity until 4th grade?), work on math and literacy, and pay attention to what all parents want regardless of political stance: power over where their kids go to school independent of ZIP code.

Think about it:

• In Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro won the governorship by 14 points after making what Marc Porter McGee calls a “full throated endorsement “ for school choice: “School choice and fully funded public education can coexist in Pennsylvania,” says Shapiro. “This is not an either-or. I think this is a both-and. I think we can invest in public education and empower parents to put their kids in the best opportunity for them to succeed, and I don’t think we have to harm public schools in the process.”  (Also last year the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a bill called the Educational Improvement Tax Credit which provides vouchers for low and middle-income families. Forty-one Democrats supported the bill; Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed it.)
• In New York Gov. Kathy Hochul won; she had just announced she supported lifting the hotly-debated cap on new New York City charter schools.
• New Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, won by 16 points; he supports charter schools.
• Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont won re-election by 13 points. The state’s Public Charter School Association cheered his commitment “to ensure that the promise of new [charter] schools becomes a reality for the children of Connecticut.”
• In Tennessee, a State Legislature evenly split between Democrats and Republicans passed bills that double facilities funding for charter schools, among other bipartisan bills like increasing education funding. Governor Bill Lee won re-election by 33 points.

So what are we doing in New Jersey? Contemplating electing the president of the state teachers union as Gov. Phil Murphy’s successor while the Murphy Administration  stands by a broken institution. Watching an inept and understaffed Education Department play chicken with local districts over course standards in gender fluidity while 93% of Newark district students fail state science tests. Counting how much students, almost all low-income and of color, loose opportunities to advance academically because the Murphy Administration kowtows to lobbyists by stifling charter school growth despite enormous demand.

That’s not social justice. That’s not progressive. That’s not educational equity.

And, according to the 2022 midterm outcomes, it’s no way to win elections.