Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Controversial charter access provision back before Penna. legislature - Philly.com

Controversial charter access provision back before Penna. legislature - Philly.com:


Controversial charter access provision back before Penna. legislature

October 09, 2012|By Dan Hardy, Inquirer Staff Writer
Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991
A controversial proposal that would deny public access to records of private managers of charter schools has surfaced again in the Pennsylvania legislature after it was rebuffed during the summer.
Disagreement over the proposed exemption to the state's Right-to-Know law was one of the reasons that a package of charter law changes submitted in late June was shelved until this fall.
The proposal was part of a 53-page amendment inserted into a special education funding bill in an effort to get the charter changes passed along with the budget.
It says the Right-to-Know law applies to charters, "except records of vendors of local agencies shall not be accessible." Charter schools are listed as local agencies in the Right-to-Know law. "Vendors" would include private management groups that run charter schools.
Story continues below.
Sen. Andy Dinniman (D., Chester) said last week that the House Republican leadership wants to