October 7, 2015
Kara Kerwin, president of The Center for Education Reform (CER), issued the following statement on the Ohio charter school reform bill HB 2 that passed the full House and Senate this afternoon:
“This is a step in the right direction for Ohio charter schools. Reforms passed today uphold accountability and ensure greater transparency while preserving charter school autonomy and innovation. While there’s still much work to do in improving the state’s C-rated charter school law, Ohio lawmakers are to be applauded for addressing critical issues.
“We commend those lawmakers and advocates who took pause last June to carefully consider the legislation before them, despite the growing pressure to get something done. These lawmakers did their due diligence, came to a bipartisan agreement, and upheld due process for schools to ensure that students and families across the Buckeye State can continue to have access to quality options.
“It is important that the General Assembly pay careful attention to see this law is implemented as intended to guard against potential overreach of the State Department of Education and work to improve upon these first steps.”
According to the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS), there are over 125,000 students being served by approximately 400 charter schools in Ohio.