Accountabaloney is New to Substack

Reporting on public education policy in the era of privatization. This is Accountabaloney. Welcome to Florida.

After more than a decade of blogging at accountabaloney.com, I have been encouraged to join Substack, as well. Since 2018, I have been an elected school board member in the Florida Keys. My thoughts here are my own.

Here is a bit about me and Accountabaloney:

We moved to Florida in 2008 so our children could grow up next to their grandmother. Governor Rick Scott’s drastic education cuts in 2011 and the growing emphasis on standardized testing led me to advocate for public education. I’ve closely followed the Florida Legislature, studied Jeb Bush’s accountability system, and witnessed its damaging effects on public schools. I will never forget when, in 2014, then-Representative Keith Perry suggested in the Florida House that completely dismantling public education would allow market forces to build something better from the wreckage—he called it “creative destruction.” My children were 8 and 10, and we depended on high-quality public schools. My advocacy became my mission that day. Over the past decade, I have watched Tallahassee systematically undermine public education, and I have come to believe the following:

1. The “Failing Public Schools” Narrative Is Manufactured. The myth of failing public schools has been used to advance political agendas, nowhere more effectively than in Florida. This began with the 1983 report A Nation at Risk, which ignored the role of poverty in student achievement and declared a “rising tide of mediocrity” in education. The immediate response? President Reagan called for prayer in schools.
   A later study, the Sandia Report, showed that American students from all socioeconomic backgrounds outperformed similarly situated students worldwide. However, as childhood poverty rose, average test scores declined. Rather than addressing poverty, politicians blamed schools and teachers, demanding they “work harder.”

2. Poverty Matters. If we want to improve educational outcomes, we must improve the lives of children first. The U.S. has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty among OECD countries. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs tells us that students need food, water, and safety before they can focus on learning—giving well-resourced students an advantage.
   When No Child Left Behind (2002) mandated annual standardized testing, the achievement gaps between low- and high-income students became undeniable. Yet, instead of addressing systemic poverty, politicians doubled down on blaming educators. Florida’s own A+ Plan, introduced by Jeb Bush, graded schools on an A-F scale and funneled students out of so-called “failing” schools into private voucher programs—ignoring the clear correlation between school performance and family income.

3. Standardized Tests Measure Wealth, Not Learning. There has never been an “F” public school in a wealthy Florida neighborhood. Researchers can accurately predict school grades using U.S. Census data alone, making high-stakes testing obsolete. A study by Tienken and Maroun found that nearly 63% of test score variance is explained by family income and social capital, factors outside a school’s control. Yet, Florida’s Department of Education refuses to adjust school grades for demographics, instead using them as a weapon to justify closing public schools while allowing private voucher schools to operate with little to no accountability.

4. Florida’s Education System Prioritizes Privatization Over Students. Florida’s school grading system has been weaponized to justify privatization under the guise of “choice” and “freedom.” Private schools accepting public vouchers face no academic accountability – no standards, no accreditation, no state oversight. Unlike public schools, they are not graded, so there are officially zero failing private schools in Florida. Lawmakers argue that parents will naturally identify and leave low-quality private schools, yet insist public schools need heavy regulation and punitive grading because students are “trapped” there.
   Florida deliberately suppresses voucher and private school performance data because the outcomes would likely be mediocre at best. National research shows vouchers do not improve academic performance. Instead, they increase segregation and discrimination. Since 2013, multiple studies have found that vouchers cause some of the largest academic declines ever recorded—worse than the impacts of COVID-19 or Hurricane Katrina.

5. The Proven Way to Improve Education: Fund Public Schools. School funding matters. Research consistently shows that increased investment in public education leads to better academic outcomes, higher graduation rates, improved future earnings, lower poverty, and reduced incarceration rates. Well-funded public schools can provide universal school meals, health clinics, early childhood programs, after-school care, and summer learning opportunities—strategies with far stronger evidence than school vouchers.

Yet, instead of pursuing these policies, Florida continues its march toward privatization, funneling billions into unaccountable alternatives while starving public schools. Because in Florida, ideology—not evidence—dictates education policy.

I have been reporting on education policy in the era of privatization for more than a decade. Accountabaloney informs those who want to help protect and improve Florida’s public schools.

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