Washington considers charter school reforms
Both chambers of Congress are addressing education issues that face Ohio and the country, including education standards and holding taxpayer-funded charter schools more accountable.
A Senate amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, which reforms part of the No Child Left Behind law, is designed to hold publicly funded charter schools to the same transparency and accountability standards as public schools. Ohio has somewhat of a sordid history with charter schools, with some charter school operators misspending millions of tax dollars and many schools not educating students at the same rate as public schools when it comes to math and reading.
“We owe it to children and taxpayers to ensure that education provided in all of our classrooms is effective – no matter where those classrooms are,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Charter schools serve around 120,000 students in Ohio, and cost the state around $1 billion, according to the budget introduced by Gov. John Kasich.
“State auditors over the past decade or so have uncovered more than $27 million of improperly spent funds in charter schools. And our children and our taxpayers pay for this mismanagement,” Brown said. “We want to make sure these charter schools effectively educate students. Right now, they’re not.”
In addition to requiring charter schools become more accountable and transparent, two other Senate amendments to the Every Child Achieves Act were also introduced, which includesreduces duplicative testing and addresses the achievement gap and inequality in the schools. The three amendments are set to be voted on, but it’s not certain when.
The U.S. House earlier this week passed an education reform bill, the Student Success Act, that replaces “top-down mandates” with “conservative reforms,” said Speaker of the House John Boehner. The House resolution would reduce the federal government’s footprint, restore local control “and empower parents and local leaders to hold schools accountable for results,” he said.
Boehner said students need to have “the freedom to fulfill their potential” and government needs to help “empower parents and their children to have a better shot at an education.”
“If we make this bill law, Washington will have fewer programs, less power, and no authority to coerce states into adopting Washington considers charter school reforms | www.journal-news.com:
