It is Time to Act on Charter Regulation Reform

child speakingThe League is not a voice in the wilderness.  We help children’s voices be heard.

Today’s Sun Sentinel ran an editorial calling for many of the same changes in regulations that the League identified.  There are three bills that deserve and need our support.  We posted details in this blog yesterday.  See: Charter School Bills Going in Different Directions.

Read the Sun Sentinel editorial published today.  Resolve to write to your legislative delegation now.

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Charter School Bills: Going in Different Directions

trojan-horse-277525_1280It is the best of times; it is the worst of times?  SB 1036 and SB SB1038 were filed by Senator Montford of the Senate Education Committee.  The bills could make a real improvement in the management and oversight of charters.  This has been a major priority of the Florida League of Women Voters.

Then there is Senator Legg’s bill.  It has a Trojan horse.

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Congress to Vote on H.R. 5 NEXT FRIDAY: Send your opinion

US House SealAn important vote on H.R. 5 is scheduled Friday.  While the League of Women Voters supports national curriculum guidelines and assessment of skills that compares the student achievement across similar districts, it also supports local implementation of the curricula and skills.   The operative definition of the League’s position is that all children should have access to an equitable, quality education.  To what extent does this bill have the desired result?

The bill severely cuts the role of the U.S. Department of Education.  It also freezes funding until 2021.  Finally, it increases support for charter schools and allows Title I funding for low income schools to be moved to other schools.  The bill has generated controversy.  Specific requirements follow.

If you wish to contact your legislators, a contact list is below.

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The Horns of a Dilemma?

bull-155411_640Over and over we hear that testing narrows the curriculum, provokes anxiety rather than enthusiasm for learning, drives teachers out of the classroom, all in the name of improving student achievement.

Why do so many educators and politicians persist in an approach whose effectiveness is yet to be validated?  A clearly articulated rationale for annual testing is needed.  One appeared in the New York Times written by a former advisor to the U.S. Department of Education.  It lays out the administration’s rationale.

 

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Toeing the Line at KIPP or Side Stepping a Little?

toesChildren in KIPP schools toe the line.  The schools are interesting because they are so often cited as one of the most successful charter school chains for students from low income, minority families.  Students are recruited from urban schools–some of which have major discipline problems.  KIPP takes these problems head on.  They have high expectations for learning and behavior.  Of course, they have high suspension and attrition rates as well.

The article in this month’s Atlantic reports how KIPP discipline practices are evolving.  Can they realistically move from a no-nonsense approach to a more moderate but equally successful experience for more students?  Or, is this educational approach only for those who can survive?

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New Mexico Proposes Better Charter Management

nm2The New Mexico legislation has strong provisions relating to the charter school management and facilities.  SB 236 Beffort strengthens these provisions.  The proposed bill is instructive because it highlights corrective measures to improve the regulations and oversight of charter facilities and conflict of interest.

These proposals can inform the regulations in other states.

 

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Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness

by Pat Drago and Sue Legg

foggy-545838_1280

 

This is not an easy walk into the woods, but you need to know where the funding for charter schools comes from and where it goes. It is your money.

There is a lot money to be made and lost with charter schools, and it is public tax dollars. As usual, independent schools tend to lose it, and large charter management chains come out on top.  This is not always to the children’s benefit.  How does this happen? We looked at the audits and found huge disparities in facility and fee expenditures. This meant that instructional parts of the budgets were reduced accordingly.

We wanted to know how these facilities were financed. If State funds were creating opportunities to make real estate venture capitalists wealthy, we wanted to know how this worked. Unfortunately, public dollars that go to private companies are hard to see. The lack of transparency for their financial records provides only vague outlines. We did find some clues by looking at how facilities are financed.

We wondered what other states were doing to ensure that state money was allocated for instruction and not for profit making ventures. We found some answers. As always, different approaches have their share of unintended consequences. As we groped in the darkness, there was a glimmer of light. The brave among you are invited to go down this path with us.

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Florida’s Fat Cats?

yachtThe current New Yorker has a long article on Jeb Bush’s role in the development of school choice.  The outline of the story is nothing new.  Jeb Bush launched charter schools and vouchers for private schools in Florida.  He based charter school grades on individual student’s achievement gains rather than school level improvement.  This offered a way to pressure teachers, because achievement would be measured at the classroom level.

According to the New Yorker article, a Bush appointee stated that Bush saw an opportunity to break the teacher’s union because it was viewed as a stalwart of the Democratic Party.

Perhaps even Jeb Bush is surprised at the growth of the choice movement.  The real story, however, is behind the scenes.

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