What changes do charter school advocates want in state laws? In a nutshell, they want new safeguards, more flexibility and more equal footing with traditional public schools.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has retooled its model law, which amounts to a wish list of policies it hopes states will enact.
Here are some key changes in the proposal, which the advocacy organization uses to rate charter school policies in individual states.
More equal funding. Building on a law from Colorado, the new proposal would require districts to give charter schools a seat at the table when they consider special tax levies or bond issues that would raise money for public schools. Charter schools with sound finances could share in the funding. This issue has cropped up from time to time in Florida when districts have proposed extra sales taxes to help pay for things like school construction. Some districts share the money with charters, but many have been reluctant to do so.
More transparency on school discipline. The proposed law would require charters to spell out their discipline practices when they apply to open new schools, so the public and the school’s sponsor (which in Florida would mean the local district) know up-front what to expect when it comes to suspensions and expulsions — including, crucially, for students with special needs.
Dealing with conflicts of interest. From time to time, controversies have flared over whether charter school boards are truly independent of the management companies that run their schools. The national alliance proposes a ban on charter school board members who are paid by management companies (aka education service providers). Charter school sponsors can agree to waive the ban, and by doing so, they would make clear up front they’re aware of any ties between a nonprofit board and any management company it hires.
Virtual charters. The national charter alliance, along with some other charter-friendly groups, has warned about the academic struggles in online charter schools, and called for changes in the ways states regulate them. Perhaps the most controversial of those proposals asked states to develop enrollment criteria for students in full-time online schools. The new proposed law presents that as one of several options for states to consider, and not necessarily a must-have if other measures, such as virtual-specific school accountability rules, seem to be working.
There will likely be differences of opinion on some of these proposals, both within the school choice movement and among its critics. But overall, they read like an effort by charter school advocates to overcome recent hot-button controversies, and encourage states to treat charter schools not as fledgling experiments, but as a grown-up part of the public education system.
