The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers have joined the chorus of charter school advocates and others who are calling for the Ohio Senate to fix the charter provisions of HB 153 as passed by the Ohio House.
In a joint letter to Senate Finance Committee chair Sen. Chris Widener, Peter Groff and Greg Richmond, presidents of NAPCS and NACSA, respectively, say:
Many of the provisions in HB 153 contradict the charter school model, thwart efforts to strengthen charter school accountability and quality, and will ultimately undermine popular support for Ohio’s community schools. As passed by the Ohio House, the charter provisions of HB 153 represent a significant risk for Ohio’s community school sector.
They go on to explain their opposition to the House changes in detail and offer up recommendations for how the Senate can improve HB 153’s charter provisions. Many of these recommendations echo the 2006 report Turning the Corner to Quality: Policy Guidelines for Strengthening Ohio’s Charter Schools, which was issued jointly by NAPCS, NACSA, and the Fordham Institute. They include:
- Removing the ability of schools to seek direct authorization from the Ohio Department of Education, and strengthening the department’s oversight of current and future charter sponsors;
- Guaranteeing school governing boards are independent and have control over the operators they hire, and strengthening ethics and transparency rules;
- Eliminating the provision that allows for-profit entities to become governing bodies;
- Providing greater funding equity and access to facilities for charter schools; and
- Promoting the replication of high-performing charter schools.
Read the letter in full here.
