Vol. 4, No. 11
March 19, 2002

CHARTERS: Perhaps it's the effectiveness of most charter schools that's causing some crazy behavior among policymakers, but whatever the cause, these examples demonstrate how charters have become the target of a whole host of anti-reform leaders:

*NEW YORK: Responding no doubt to pressure from the establishment, two New York State lawmakers - Assemblyman Paul Tonko (D-Amsterdam) and Senator Neil Breslin (D-Albany) - want to repeal retroactively the charter of any school that was approved but has not yet opened. If successful, this would shut down a dozen approved public charter schools across the state, most of which have already admitted students for the fall. These include schools in Albany, Schenectady, two charter schools in the Buffalo area, one each in Syracuse and Hudson, four in New York City, and one on Long Island.

Hundreds of charter school parents and organizers have lined up to fight the bill. The New York Charter Schools Association (NYCSA, http://www.nycsa.org) immediately began working with parents and school leaders to demonstrate the significant facility, staff, and student enrollment commitments among New York's twelve 2002 start-up charter schools, making a strong argument to the sponsors of the bills (numbers A.10370/S.6448) to, at a minimum, remove the immediate threat of the bill's retroactivity provision.

*NEW JERSEY: The new Commissioner of Education is making it clear to reformers why he reportedly had to leave his former job as superintendent of the Montclair, NJ schools. William Librera has been in office barely three months, and already he has rebuked the effort to set and hold children to high standards, has dismissed nearly all of the personnel at the charter schools office and now is telling charter schools they may no longer have the local dollars their own parents contribute to the public schools. A week later the Commissioner told charter schools that he did indeed support them but that money is tight. Time will tell whether he supports them or not: New Jersey Governor McGreevey will reveal his budget to the legislature on March 26.

*INDIANA: The Commissioner in this state, Suellen Reed, is continuing to play games with charter schools that have been approved to open this fall. First she decided that since public schools in the state get their funding every January, then charters would have to wait till then as well. Interesting that the effect of that decision would be to prevent most charter schools from opening at all. In opposition to Reed's policy, the Attorney General weighed in and ruled that charters are absolutely entitled to front-end funding. Traditional schools in Indiana are forward funded, so the January funding reflects adjustments in enrollment from the previous year. But rather than accept the decision by the AG - a decision that she sought - Reed is still saying she has no power to change funding distribution. In the meantime, Reed is suggesting that schools may not even be able to fully quality for federal stimulus funds without some additional hoops. Reformers are contemplating next steps. Not reelecting Reed may be one consideration.

* MASSACHUSETTS: Taking accountability seriously, the State Board of Education voted not to renew the Lynn Community Charter School in Lynn, MA, after the school failed to demonstrate adequate progress from year to year. As the state knows, charters are about giving parents the power to choose and about performance. The State previously closed down two other schools for academic reasons. Far from an indictment, closing public schools that don't add value to children's education should be the rule, not the exception.

* MARYLAND: Hooray for the Washington Post's editorial writers, who proclaimed that it's high-time the state pass a charter school law, and cease being "competition-averse." The Post's recommendation comes on the heels of the demise of the promising proposal for the Jaime Escalante charter school, an effort by public school teachers looking to fill the achievement gaps that the allegedly high performing county still abides. The teachers attempted even in the absence of a law to get Montgomery County to allow them to have a "chartered" public school. They were rebuffed, encouraged and then rebuffed again. Meanwhile, the Frederick Center for Charter Schools - a parent-grown group and CER Partner - succeeded in its quest to start a Montessori Elementary School. While parents in Frederick County have reason to cheer, without a real law the school board runs the charter, so there will be little flexibility in terms of staffing, rules, and operations. Senators Blount, Dyson and Hollinger have passed a bill through the Maryland Senate that will need considerable strengthening in order to really create autonomous, successful charter schools. And federal money flows more to states with stronger laws than weaker ones, so Maryland's pending proposal needs considerable strengthening if it's to actually yield charters in the end.

* DELAWARE: In an update from last week, the Georgetown, DE charter school looks like it may be coming out of a sticky financial situation caused largely by bad advice from that state's Department of Education. While it's not over and the Department still threatens revocation of the high-performing charter school, the school did get some additional backing to help pay for its facility and is looking into additional long-term solutions that would keep it solvent. In the meantime, lawmakers should investigate why state education officials told the school to purchase land, knowing it would cause a deficit.

* DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Like their counterparts nationwide, DC parents like their charter schools at much higher levels than they like their public schools. 48% of charter school parents give their schools an A, compared to 40% of non-charter public schools; and 53% of charter parents given their teachers an A, compared to 43% of non-charter public school parents. FOCUS, a DC- based advocacy group that sponsored the survey, noted that such high marks are particularly noteworthy given the traditional obstacles of starting up schools and not having had the time to really build a loyal constituency. The full survey, conducted by the State University of New York at Stony Brook, can be found at http://www.focus-dccharter.org.

These and more stories are also highlighted in the mid-Winter issue of CER's Monthly Letter to Friends.

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