Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Education Dept. allows public charter schools to hold weighted lottery - The Washington Post

Education Dept. allows public charter schools to hold weighted lottery - The Washington Post:



Education Dept. allows public charter schools to hold weighted lottery




How to Steal Public Schools for Dummies (excerpts)





 The Education Department on Wednesday reversed a long-standing policy and will now allow public charter schools that receive federal grants to give admissions preference to low-income children, minorities and other disadvantaged students.

The move is designed to try to preserve racial diversity in schools that are attractive to wealthier families. Schools will be able to conduct a “weighted lottery” that gives preference to certain groups.
More news about education

Teachers oppose Va. bill challenging mainstream science

Bill would direct school systems to encourage students to explore and evaluate ‘scientific controversies.’

Public charter schools allowed to hold weighted lotteries

Education Dept.’s change to long-standing rule could lead to more diversity in charter enrollment.

A push for DCPS to share space with charters

The D.C. government will push traditional schools to share space with charters and city agencies.
“We’ve heard from states, school operators and other stakeholders across the country that weighted lotteries can be an effective tool that can complement public charter schools’ efforts to serve more educationally disadvantaged students,” said Dorie Holt, a department spokeswoman.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools had been asking for the change for nearly three years, said Nina Rees, the group’s president.
“At the core, this brings the federal statute in line with what a lot of states have put into place to help attract more English-language learners, special education students and low-income students to charter schools,” Rees said.
In cities such as Denver, New York and the District of Columbia, a handful of well-regarded charter schools have been attracting wealthier families, making it difficult to maintain a balance between rich and poor, white and minority, said Michael Petrilli, executive vice president of the right-leaning Fordham Institute and author of “The Diverse Schools Dilemma.”
“Once the word gets out, many middle-class parents who want diverse schools end up flooding the lotteries, and then it’s not so diverse anymore,” Petrilli said. “If you can’t weight