by Diane Ravitch
ALEC has operated in the background since 1973, funded by major corporations who want to advance a corporate-friendly agenda into state legislatures. Some 2,000 state legislators belong to ALEC and attend its posh conferences, where they hobnob with corporate lobbyists.
ALEC suffered a PR setback when Trayvon Martin was killed last year in Florida by a man who invoked ALEC's "stand your ground" law. The bad publicity caused some 40 corporations to abandon ALEC.
It has written draft legislation for vouchers, charters, cyber charters, ending teacher tenure, ending collective bargaining, and a host of other measures to "reform" American education so that public dollars flow to private hands with minimal or no regulation or accountability.
Life is unfair, even for ALEC. Common Cause is trying to strip them of their tax-exempt status, saying that they are lobbyists. ALEC Exposed has posted their radical legislation for all to see.