Teachers union chief: School choice rooted in segregation
Weingarten has been a fierce opponent of President Donald Trump's efforts to expand charter and private school voucher programs around the country.
Board of Education decision in 1954, tried to bypass desegregation efforts by closing down every public school and opening private schools that were off-limits to black children.
Allen said that comparing education reform advocates to racists and segregationists "is not just ill-advised hyperbole, it is a deeply offensive, highly inflammatory insult to all the parents and people - of all races, backgrounds and regions - who have worked to bring options, opportunities and reforms to an education system that has failed them for generations."
Education Department spokeswoman Liz Hill said school choice helps level the playing field by letting students escape failing schools.