According to a just-issued press release, the N.J. Charter School Association has filed a formal complaint with the NJ State Ethics Commission against Rubin. NJSCA charges that Rubin is using her position as an associate professor at Rutgers to add credibility to her anti-charter school lobbying activities. Rubin, Chair of Save Our Schools-NJ, along with fellow traveller Mark Weber, recently published the first of three anti-charter screeds and NJSCA wants to halt the publication of the next two, at least under the auspices of Rutgers.

Here’s the full release:

Hamilton, New Jersey  —  “The New Jersey Charter Schools Association (NJCSA) today filed a formal complaint with, and requests an investigation by, the New Jersey State Ethics Commission against Associate Professor Julia Sass Rubin, Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.  The complaint alleges that as founder and current Chair of Save our Schools New Jersey (SOSNJ), Dr. Sass Rubin has knowingly and consistently used her position, title and university resources to wage a personally driven lobbying and public relations campaign against New Jersey’s public charter schools, as well as New Jersey’s laws that regulate same, in support of SOSNJ’s advocacy goals. 

To date, the NJCSA has chosen to engage Dr. Sass Rubin on the merits of the arguments.  But with her recent publication of a research paper funded by SOSNJ but released under the auspices of Rutgers University as academic research, it is clear that she knowingly and willingly is attempting to add credibility to her positions, and that of SOSNJ, by trading on the credibility of Rutgers University—in clear violation of the State’s Conflict of Interest Law and Uniform Ethics Code, as well as the University’s Code and Policies for faculty employees. 

As an association of educators, the NJCSA embraces the right of all educators to speak on matters of public debate.  But the NJCSA and its members will not stand by as Dr. Sass Rubin devalues the reputation of our State University, a reputation that has been earned over years of excellence in research and academic achievement, to endorse her personal opinions and advance her personal advocacy interests.  Because Dr. Sass Rubin has promised two further ‘studies,’ the NJCSA has filed this complaint today to ensure appropriate corrective action is taken before Dr. Sass Rubin releases her personal views as Rutgers research and creates further embarrassment for Rutgers University.”

Note: I wrote about this publication in November and stated on my blog that the “study” was paid for by SOS-NJ. Ms. Rubin replied that, in fact, the study was paid for by Rutgers. A little more checking, and I found that the study was paid for by a small endowment at Rutgers called the Daniel Tanner Foundation which describes itself as “advancing American public education, specifically with regard to the democratizing function and design of the curriculum of nonselective elementary schools and nonselective secondary schools of the comprehensive type. (Charter schools, voucher schools and specialized academic schools are not eligible for grants.).” Grants, by the way, are invitation-only.

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