Charter school bill would broaden eligibility
The Senate Education Committee approved the legislation 5-2 Wednesday, and it’s scheduled to be considered by a House education subcommittee next week.
“It allows moms and dads to consider a public charter school even if their child is not in a failing school,” said Sen. Jamie Hagood, a Knoxville Republican who is the committee chair and sponsor of the bill.
Charter schools are public schools that are free from certain state regulations but are held accountable for results. They are funded by tax dollars diverted from the traditional public school the child is zoned to attend.
Currently there are seven charter schools in Tennessee — six in Memphis and one in Nashville. Seven have been approved for next year — four in Memphis, two in Nashville and one in Chattanooga.
The charter school law enacted in 2002 limited enrollment to students who are zoned for low-performing schools, defined as those that fail to make adequate progress for at least two years.
Hagood’s bill would open charter schools to other at-risk students, including those who are not making adequate yearly progress and students who qualify for special education services.
The legislation would continue to exempt charter schools from most state regulations.
Dedrick Briggs, executive director of the Tennessee Charter School Alliance, said the waiver is needed because of the high standard of accountability. If a charter school doesn’t make progress for two consecutive years, then the district has the option of shutting it down.
“All we’re saying is that if we’re under that level of accountability, give us all the autonomy that you can to help us meet that goal, because we are dealing with a challenging student population,” Briggs said.
So far, Tennessee charter schools seem to be doing well. First-year scores of students attending the schools were higher than similar children who stayed in public school, according to Steven M. Ross, director of the Center for Research and Educational Policy at the University of Memphis.
“Whether that means charter schools are going to be effective in the long term, I can’t say, but they’re well off to a positive start,” Ross said. “Next year will be more conclusive.”
A national study, released by the U.S. Department of Education in December, showed that fourth-graders in charter schools were doing as well in reading but worse in math, compared to their peers in traditional public schools.
The study also showed that poor children in charter schools performed worse in both academic subjects than their counterparts in traditional schools.
Jerry Winters, spokesman for the Tennessee Education Association, which represents teachers and opposes the bill, said research shows “test scores at charter schools older than three years are still no higher than public schools.”
“I think charter schools have a role to play as laboratories, but they’re still experimental and still unproven,” Winters said. “Tennessee would do well to move very slowly in this area.”
Lydia Lenker, spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Bredesen, said the governor is not opposed to charter schools, “but he feels you can’t turn your back on traditional public schools.”
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On the Net:
Read SB2167/HB2137 at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/