The Perimeter Primate: Grannan: Charters want accountability? That's a new concept.

The Perimeter Primate: Grannan: Charters want accountability? That's a new concept.

Grannan: Charters want accountability? That's a new concept.

by The Perimeter Primate

Guest post by Caroline Grannan.
The charter school industry and its supporters earnestly assure the public these days that they want problem charter schools held accountable.
If that’s true, it’s good news. It’s also a drastic about-face for the charter school industry, which has long fought efforts to hold charter schools accountable. A May 25 New York Times article pointed out the same thing. The charter industry has been waging successful court battles against efforts to hold charter schools accountable.
“…[C]harter schools have at times resisted tougher monitoring,” the Times wrote. “In 2007, a group of charter schools and advocates sued the [New York state] comptroller's office, challenging its right to audit the finances and academic performance of such schools. Critics said the comptroller's office had no expertise to assess academics. “Last year, the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, ruled that charter schools were in effect independent contractors and beyond the comptroller's reach.”