The Network for Public Education believes that public education is the pillar of our democracy.
We believe in the common school envisioned by Horace Mann. A common
school is a public institution, which nurtures and teaches all who live
within its boundaries, regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, sexual
preference or learning ability. All may enroll--regardless of when they
seek to enter the school or where they were educated before.
We
believe that taxpayers bear the responsibility for funding those
schools and that funding should be ample and equitable to address the
needs of the served community. We also believe that taxpayers have the
right to examine how schools use tax dollars to educate children.
Most
importantly, we believe that such schools should be accountable to the
community they serve, and that community residents have the right and
responsibility to elect those who govern the school. Citizens also have
the right to insist that schooling be done in a manner that best serves
the needs of all children.
By
definition, a charter school is not a public school. Charter schools
are formed when a private organization contracts with a government
authorizer to open and run a school. Charters are managed by private
boards, often with no connection to the community they serve. The boards
of many leading charter chains are populated by billionaires who often
live far away from the schools they govern.
Through
lotteries, recruitment and restrictive entrance policies, charters do
not serve all children. The public cannot review income and expenditures
in detail. Many are for profit entities or non-profits that farm out
management to for-profit corporations that operate behind a wall of
secrecy. This results in scandal, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds.
The news is replete with stories of self-dealing, conflicts of interest,
and theft occurring in charter schools [1].
We
have learned during the 25 years in which charters have been in
existence that the overall academic performance of students in charter
schools is no better, and often worse, than the performance of students
in public schools. And yet charter schools are seen as the remedy when
public schools are closed based on unfair letter-based grading schemes.
By
means of school closures and failed takeover practices like the
Achievement School District, disadvantaged communities lose their public
schools to charter schools. Not only do such communities lose the
school, but they also lose their voice in school governance.
There
is little that is innovative or new that charter schools offer. Because
of their “freedom” from regulations, allegedly to promote innovation,
scandals involving the finances and governance of charter schools occur
on a weekly basis. Charter schools can and have closed at will, leaving
families stranded. Profiteers with no educational expertise have seized
the opportunity to open charter schools and use those schools for
self-enrichment. States with weak charter laws encourage nepotism,
profiteering by politicians, and worse.
For
all of the reasons above and more, the Network for Public Education
regard charter schools as a failed experiment that our organization
cannot support. If the strength of charter schools is the freedom to
innovate, then that same freedom can be offered to public schools by the
district of the state.
At
the same time, we recognize that many families have come to depend on
charter schools and that many charter school teachers are dedicated
professionals who serve their students well. It is also true that some
charter schools are successful. We do not, therefore, call for the
immediate closure of all charter schools, but rather we advocate for
their eventual absorption into the public school system. We look forward
to the day when charter schools are governed not by private boards, but
by those elected by the community, at the district, city or county
level.
Until
that time, we support all legislation and regulation that will make
charters better learning environments for students and more accountable
to the taxpayers who fund them.
Such legislation would include the
following:
•
An immediate moratorium on the creation of new charter schools,
including no replication or expansion of existing charter schools
• The transformation of for-profit charters to non-profit charters
• The transformation of for-profit management organizations to non-profit management organizations
• All due process rights for charter students that are afforded public school students, in all matters of discipline
• Required certification of all school teaching and administrative staff
• Complete transparency in all expenditures and income
• Requirements that student bodies reflect the demographics of the served community
• Open meetings of the board of directors, posted at least 2 weeks prior on the charter’s website
• Annual audits available to the public
• Requirements to following bidding laws and regulations
•
Requirements that all properties owned by the charter school become the
property of the local public school if the charter closes
• Requirements that all charter facilities meet building codes
• Requirements that charters offer free or reduced priced lunch programs for students
• Full compensation from the state for all expenditures incurred when a student leaves the public school to attend a charter
• Authorization, oversight and renewal of charters transferred to the local district in which they are located
•
A rejection of all ALEC legislation regarding charter schools that
advocates for less transparency, less accountability, and the removal of
requirements for teacher certification.
Until
charter schools become true public schools, the Network for Public
Education will continue to consider them to be private schools that take
public funding
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