Friday, March 14, 2014

“Imagine Learning” Bill HB2485 Is an ALEC Model-Bill Clone

Posted By on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 11:30 AM

hb2485-comparison_clip.jpg

(Hat tip to Lisa Hoffman, Arizona's best source of information about Arizona-ALEC Model Bill connections.)

This is the third try for a bill giving "Imagine Learning" what is essentially a no-bid contract to supply ELL learning software to Arizona schools. It passed the House with bipartisan support (and bipartisan opposition) in its current incarnation, HB2485. The first try was SB1319 in 2010, sponsored by Sen. Al Melvin and then-Senator John Huppenthal. The second try, SB1239, was a solo attempt by Melvin in 2013. (More details in an earlier post.)

I wonder if Democrats sponsoring and voting for this bill realize it's taken nearly word for word from a piece of ALEC model legislation, K-12 Technology-Based Reading Intervention for English Learners Act, approved by the ALEC Board of Directors January 9, 2014. I also wonder if Democrats are aware that Imagine Learning funds ALEC at its second highest level, along with some of the country’s biggest special interests, or that Imagine Learning is the darling of conservative privatizers everywhere.

The graphic at the top of this post shows one part of the Arizona bill that comes almost straight from the ALEC model bill. A larger graphic after the jump shows a few more of the many obvious similarities. (Note the {Insert State} direction so Republican legislators will know how to "tailor" the bill for their states.) You can go through AZ and ALEC versions yourself and find lots more.

hb2485-comparison.jpg

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