Brown to consider axing for-profit charter schools
California would abolish all for-profit charter schools under legislation now pending before the governor.
The bill would only affect a handful of schools in California, according to an aide to Assemblyman Roger Hernández, the bill's author. The aide said the majority of those charter schools belong to K-12 Inc., an online homeschool headquartered in Virginia. K-12 Inc reported revenue of $948 million in the last fiscal year, and an operating income of $18.4 million.
“Charter schools are funded with public dollars and deserve to be held to the same standards as traditional schools,” said Hernández, a West Covina Democrat. "We do not put profits before students."
Assembly Bill 787 is sponsored by the California Teachers Association and two other school employee unions. Trade groups for charter schools have called for its veto.
K-12 Inc. provides course materials and educational programs to California Virtual Academies, a network of 11 online schools across the state. Jeff Kwitowski, a spokesman for K-12 Inc., characterized the company as a vendor to California Virtual Academies, which he said operates as a nonprofit.
It's unknown what affect the bill would have on the organization, if any, he said.
"This legislation is vague and it's unclear what is trying to be accomplished here," said Kwitowski. He promoted California Virtual Academies as a strong alternative for children with special needs or those who have been bullied.
"If the attempt of the bill is to displace thousands of children from charter schools — that's bad policy," he said.
The California Association of Charter Schools said it applauded the idea of eliminating for-profit charter schools, but it pulled back its support of the legislation this year after initially agreeing to support it.
The association is worried that the bill could hurt a charter school's ability to enter into a contract with any private company, said Myrna Castrejón, the association’s acting CEO.
It is normal practice for charters to contract out food services, special education services or other ancillary needs, Castrejón said. She fears the legislation could spark lawsuits between charters and their authorizing school districts.
“Clearly this would put us at a tremendous disadvantage,” she said.
The Hernández aide said the bill would not affect contracting out. The Assemblyman's office had received such assurances from lawyers for the California Teachers Association and other bill sponsors.
California is home to over 1,200 charter schools, said Castrejón from the charter school association. She said she believes California Virtual Academies was the bill’s primary target. On its website, California Virtual Academies advertises itself as a “tuition-free” public K-12 school accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges.California legislation would prohibit for-profit charter schools like those run by K-12 Inc. - Sacramento Business Journal: