Wow. Wow, wow, wow. If you’re in the education policy space, set aside 15 minutes and watch this (follow the links). The exchange between Fuller and Warren is as good an encapsulation of the pro-charter argument as I have seen.

We need to talk… 1/ https://twitter.com/matt_barnum/status/1197952492287463424

Fuller *explicitly* rejects Warren’s argument that resource deficiencies are a cause of educational inequities. He embraces the conservative notion that giving more money to schools serving disadvantaged children is basically throwing that money away. 2/

Unless you “radically alter the practices of that system...” And what does that mean? Fuller doesn’t say. To be fair, that would have been a great question for Warren to ask: “What do you want to do, Dr. Fuller, to radically alter the system’s practices?” 2/

So what do we know about $ and school performance? Turns out we know quite a bit, and we learn more as time passes. Bottom line: money matters. Just ask @SchlFinance101: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/how-money-matters-report Or @KiraboJackson https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2018/12/17/does-money-matter-education-schools-research/ Or these guys: https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/EDFP_a_00236 3/

Let’s just dispense with the pretense: of course money matters in education: https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2018/12/17/does-money-matter-education-schools-research/

So here’s Warren, calling *explicitly* to put more $ into the K-12 education system, as all recent research supports. But there’s Fuller, arguing for “choice,” *explicitly* saying more money would likely be a waste…

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. 5/

I am all for “choice.” But let's be clear: “choice” is not a substitution for adequate funding. The system *must* have the funds it needs. Have as much “choice” as you want — it doesn’t matter if the resources aren’t there. This is the critical point: “CHOICE" IS NOT ADEQUACY!

Sing it from the rooftops: “CHOICE IS NOT ADEQUACY!” The beautiful, deserving children in “failing" schools deserve more than ”choice.” They need what every kid needs: an adequately resourced school. Warren, to her credit, seems to support that. Who could be against it? 7/

Apparently, Fuller and other “choice” advocates. They explicitly argue more resources without more “choice" is a waste. But how can you be for *all* public schools, yet still express cynicism at the notion of putting more money into district schools? 8/

Bottom line: Fuller et al. argue we don’t dare put more $ into the system w/o “choice.” But we know the system can’t function without adequate resources. We MUST adequately fund schools! CHOICE WILL NEVER BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR ADEQUACY! end/