Charters: Moving from Problems to Solutions

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Fraud, waste and abuse in charter school management is well documented.  Choosing effective strategies to encourage legislatures to address solutions is always a challenge.

Two groups, In The Public Interest and the Center for Popular Democracy,  have taken a first step.  The League will help; find out how.

Based on a national survey of opinions about charter school issues, a set of issues that resonate well with the public have been identified.

They include:

  • Accountability: open board meetings; transparency in how money is spent, regular audits
  • Protection of Neighborhood Schools: charter impact analyses, maintenance of district school funding
  • Protection of Tax Payer Funds: money follows students who return to district schools, prevent conflict of interest of charter boards, no public money used for advertising, moratorium on new charters if fraud and mismanagement not controlled,
  • Providing High Quality Education for Every Child: teachers must have same training and qualifications in districts and charters, require charters to serve high need students including those with disabilities at the same level as district schools.

The LWV Education Issues team and the national survey team are planning a webinar for our members.  We will review the actual survey data and solicit questions from participants.

We will follow up by considering state League positions and develop appropriate action strategies.   You can prepare by reading the 0215 Charter School Flyer.f .  We will notify you about the date and time for the webinar.

Posted in Advocacy, Charter School Management, Reform.

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