Charter Schools and Civil Rights
To the Editor:
Re “A Misguided Attack on Charter Schools” (editorial, Oct. 13):
The N.A.A.C.P. should be applauded for ratifying a resolution calling for a halt to the expansion of charter schools.
You say charters give children in poor communities their only opportunity for a superior education. Actually, equity gives children an opportunity for excellent education. Here in Chicago, there are public schools that offer Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish and that support every teacher with a classroom aide.
In the same city, same district, there are schools with one teacher aide in the entire building, no world language classes and no librarian. These schools are not failing: They have been failed.
We are not anti-charter ideologues. We applaud the 20 percent of charters that outperform traditional public schools. We are not advocating the mass shutdown of charters, because closing schools harms children.
What must be acknowledged is the ample evidence that charters as a whole have discriminatory discipline practices, serve fewer English-language learners and children with special needs, and are struggling with the excessive expulsion of their students, who are overwhelmingly black and Latino.
The call by the N.A.A.C.P., Black Lives Matter and the Journey for Justice Alliance for a moratorium on charters and school privatization is in the best civil rights tradition.
JITU BROWN
National Director
Journey for Justice Alliance
Chicago
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