NAACP moves ahead with its call for moratorium on charter schools
Attendees listen to Hillary Clinton speak at the NAACP annual convention at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati on Monday, July 18, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
Leaders of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, took a controversial stand in October by ratifying a resolution calling for a moratorium on expanding public charter school funding until there is better oversight of these schools and more transparency from charter operators.
The move by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — which was supported by the Movement for Black Lives and the nonprofit Journey for Justice Alliance — was hailed by public education advocates but attacked by charter school supporters. Some of the critics were from other civil rights groups, underscoring a split in that community about the privatization of public education.
Charter schools — which are publicly funded by operated independently of public districts, sometimes by for-profit companies — are one key element of corporate school reform. They are praised by supporters as offering a choice to parents whose children would otherwise be trapped in bad public schools. But critics see charters as part of the movement to privatize public education, and the growth of charter schools has drained many traditional public school systems. The charter sectors in a number of states are severely troubled because of lack of sufficient oversight.
There have been calls from within the charter movement for more accountability, but a deep divide exists, with many advocates worrying primarily about the loss of independence that more oversight would bring. The movement is also divided on how fast to grow and even what students to embrace. For the past 25 years, charters were largely promoted to help students out NAACP moves ahead with its call for moratorium on charter schools - The Washington Post:
