{"id":19805,"date":"2013-08-12T11:51:11","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T15:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=19805"},"modified":"2013-08-12T11:51:11","modified_gmt":"2013-08-12T15:51:11","slug":"why-education-could-hurt-jeb-bushs-2016-presidential-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/08\/12\/why-education-could-hurt-jeb-bushs-2016-presidential-chances\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Education Could Hurt Jeb Bush’s 2016 Presidential Chances"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Former<\/a>

JONATHAN ERNST \/ REUTERS \/LANDOV<\/p>

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, March 15, 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

Two 2016 presidential horse race stories posit that former Gov. Jeb Bush’s stock is down following the recent resignation of Education Commissioner Tony Bennett and Florida and Indiana lawmakers questioning the veracity of the A-to-F school grading systems Bush pioneered.<\/p>\n

Bush hasn’t said whether or not he intends to run in 2016.<\/p>\n

Bush built his gubernatorial legacy on a suite of education policies — largely built around Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results — to assess student progress and school performance. But both stories argue two issues could turn that perceived strength into a weakness in a Republican presidential primary.<\/p>\n

The first is Bennett, and his efforts to boost the grade of a prominent Indiana charter school.<\/a> Emails published by the Associated Press showed Bennett, while Indiana’s elected state superintendent, and staff discussing how to improve the grade of Christel House Academy.<\/p>\n

The emails are part of the conversation as Indiana reexamines its A-through-F grading formula<\/a>, and an initial review from the new Democratic superintendent found evidence of “verified manipulation.”<\/a> Bennett is a Bush protege, and was the former governor’s preference to lead Florida schools last year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here’s The Miami Herald <\/em><\/a>on Bush’s clout in Florida:<\/p>\n

Bush\u2019s influence has remained strong in Florida. But there is evidence that he may be losing clout.This spring, Bush and the Foundation for Florida\u2019s Future were unable to pass the parent trigger bill, which would have allowed parents to demand changes at low-performing schools. They suffered another defeat last month, when the state Board of Education approved a \u201csafety-net\u201d to prevent school grades from dropping dramatically in the wake of new, more challenging student state exams. The foundation had argued that artificial inflation would undermine the grading system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe long sleep is now over,\u201d said Kathleen Oropeza, of the Orlando-based parent group Fund Education Now. \u201cPeople are starting to realize that Jeb and his reforms are not good for children and not good for schools. They are meant to privatize public education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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