Gray sends D.C. Council a proposal to give chartering authority to schools chancellor
Gray (D) announced his intention to seek chartering authority for Henderson during his weekly radio address Sunday, and the bill has been under legal review since.
More news about education
Preliminary results show decline in Va. SOL scores
Officials say the introduction of harder English and Science standards is responsible for the lower scores.
Howard trustee: University ‘is in genuine trouble’
Letter from vice chairwoman of Howard U.’s board cites litany of challenges, questions management.
Gray finalizes bill to give chartering authority to D.C. schools chancellor
The mayor’s proposal is one of two aimed at freeing DCPS from regulations and union contracts.
Gray has said that chartering authority can be uses as a tool to turn around struggling schools and spur rapid student achievement gains. It would, for example, offer a legal pathway for the high-performing Achievement Prep Public Charter School to take over Malcolm X Elementary, as Henderson has proposed.
But some critics wonder why Henderson, who already has broad authority to manage the city’s traditional schools, needs to bring in outside operators such as Achievement Prep to trigger improvements. Others question whether a school system leader, responsible for managing a large bureaucracy, is equipped to approve charters — and able give offer them total autonomy.
Council Member David A. Catania (I-At Large) is also seeking to give the chancellor the ability to open schools free from municipal regulations and teacher union contracts. But Catania’s proposal to allow for “innovation schools” — part of a package of education legislation he introduced this week — stops short of giving Henderson chartering authority. Innovation schools, while not necessarily neighborhood matter-of-right schools, would still be part of the traditional system.
Here are the main elements of Gray’s bill:
