As far as I know, Catapult learning doesn’t do anything to pressure people into using their program. They don’t have to. The reason why yeshivas will go for it is because it enables them to control the program.
Currently, with the exception of a few schools testing out the Catapult system, schools that accept the Department of Ed services have to receive them on the DOE’s terms. This means that the teachers work the same hours and days as the public schools, and they are hired by the Department of Education. Privatizing the services benefits yeshivas by enabling them to: a. Hire the teachers they want (presumably frum ones, men for the yeshivas and women for the BYs) b. Get the services at the times they want (e.g., not having students pulled out during limudei kodesh) c. Follow the calendar they want (observing Jewish holidays and providing services through government holidays)
If not for the pay situation, this could be a boon to teachers as well. Frum certified teachers could work in a frum environment and get vacations at all the right times (in public education, you have to take days off for Succos and others unless they happen to fall on a weekend)
It’s a disgrace that highly qualified teachers are being offered just a bit more than minimum wage. Becoming a certified teacher takes long, hard work, and it’s not a cheap process either. In the Department of Education, we could get $50k per year plus benefits such as health insurance for the whole family and leveled bonuses. However, if the special ed related services industry becomes privatized, there will be MUCH fewer DOE jobs available. (They are already not too easy to get; this would probably cut the demand in the DOE by about half)