Sen. Dick Brewbaker says charter schools bill undergoing revisions to get advocates on board
Mike Cason
AL.com
January 16th, 2015
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — State Sen. Dick Brewbaker, a Republican from Montgomery who has advocated for school reforms for years, said he is working with others to revise a charter school proposal in preparation for the legislative session.
Charter school legislation was a high priority for the Republican-led Legislature in 2012 but did not pass.
Brewbaker said he won’t file a bill this year until he has all the advocates on the same page.
The session starts March 3.
Charter schools are publicly funded schools that aren’t bound by the rules and regulations of traditional schools. Instead, they are governed by a charter that spells out their purpose and goals.
“It’s just a way to put a lot of flexibility into public education that traditional schools don’t have,” Brewbaker said.
Forty-two states allow charter schools, according to The Center for Education Reform.
Brewbaker said there’s ample evidence that innovation is needed in public education.
Last month, the state Department of Education released statewide results of tougher standardized tests Alabama students took for the first time last spring.
Students in grades 3-8 took the ACT Aspire tests in reading and math.
Tests showed that fewer than half were on track to be ready for college in both subject areas at almost every level.
Brewbaker said charter schools are not a “silver bullet” but can be part of the mix in improving education.
“Charters are a way to get different sets of eyes looking at these problems,” he said.
He said the bill will be limited in scope and would probably allow the creation of 10 charter schools a year over a five-year period statewide.
Brewbaker said they would be run by a nonprofit organization under rules spelled out in a charter that would have to be approved by a local school board or a statewide board.
They would receive public school tax dollars in amounts based on their enrollment.
The Alabama Education Association has been an opponent of charter schools.
In an email today, AEA Executive Secretary Henry Mabry said the organization supports improvements in public education and would be open to discussions this year.
“We look forward to reviewing what Sen. Brewbaker has to offer during this upcoming session, and we hope to be given the opportunity to have our comments heard as this legislation is considered,” Mabry said.
Brewbaker said another group, School Superintendents of Alabama, was most instrumental in blocking the charter school legislation in 2012.
Eric Mackey, executive director of the SSA, said the group, which represents 137 local superintendents, had concerns about the 2012 legislation but ultimately supported it, with reservations, after some changes were made.
Mackey said the SSA and other groups have been involved in discussions about this year’s version.
He said it’s important that a charter school plan be limited in scope and that charters be written to target a specific need.
“In states where you see hundreds of charter schools, a large number, often the majority are underperforming,” Mackey said.
Brewbaker acknowledges that results of charter schools have been mixed. He said charters that aren’t achieving their goals within four years should be closed.
But Brewbaker also said he can’t understand “defense of the status quo, especially some systems that clearly need to take a fresh look at what they’re doing”
Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said he could not comment specifically on Brewbaker’s legislation, but said he generally opposes charter schools.
Ross said local school systems can already apply for waivers from some state laws and policies to develop flexible programs that fit their own needs. That was part of the Alabama Accountability Act, passed in 2013.
Brewbaker said he’s not seeing many school systems take advantage of flexibility waivers.
