Horns Down: Abbott puts blind faith in charter schools

In an editorial on Friday, we reported that Texas’ largest charter school network, Responsive Education Solutions, teaches both an anti-evolution science curriculum and a history curriculum that plays fast and loose with facts. This is especially troubling, considering gubernatorial candidate and Republican frontrunner Greg Abbott’s hard-line support for charter schools is the centerpiece of his education platform. Over the last six weeks, Abbott has made numerous campaign stops at schools where he has held roundtable discussions about education policy. At these events, Abbott made clear his support for the privatization of public education, despite the fact that his campaign has yet to offer a concrete platform. Charter schools and privatization may be part of the solution to issues confronting Texas public education, but until we can be sure that we are supporting the right charter schools, we should be skeptical of Abbott’s blind faith in their effectiveness.