“The education system in this country has never worked for poor people and people of color. We’re not calling for the status quo. We don't want things to continue as they’ve always done."
Recently, there has been pushback against a bipartisan popular educational reform, namely, charter schools.
Critics have focused on issues of poor oversight and regulation. Lax enforcement of regulations have led to incidents of fraud, corruption and tax dollar waste such as covered on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episode on charter schools
Other critics have focused on charter schools’ use as a mechanism to increase segregation, and exasperate, rather than alleviate the current problems in public education. As a result, the NAACP and the Movement for Black Lives recently called for a moratorium on charter schools.
The Movement for Black Lives announced a big, overarching educational policy that had many different components. Their educational policy called for a moratorium on charter schools and school closures, equity in funding levels and for an end to Teach for America and Broad Superintendents Academy, as well as other, more controversial measures. BLM Educational Policy
The NAACP also called for a moratorium on charter schools, however, their focus was just on charter schools, and not on other aspects of educational policy. News on NAACP moratorium on charter schools
There is some serious debate going on in response to this issue, however, it appears to be primarily from pro-charter lobby groups, which is to be expected: Questions Of Race And Charter Schools Divide Education Reformers
But what about families? Vouchers, charters, and lotteries in low-performing districts are hotly contested and people come out in droves to get into a lottery. However, research from 2014 suggests that "87% of parents with school-age children have sent a child to a public school, more than a quarter have made use of an alternative type of school: 14% have had a child in a private school, 9% a charter school and 8% have homeschooled their children. The totals add up to more than 100% simply because many families are making use of more than one type of school." quote by Paul E. Peterson from Education Next
Families seem to want good, safe schools, with decent curriculum, conveniently located and filled with quality teachers. That isn't something that only charter schools can offer.
The question is, why are charter schools so popular among politicians and so unpopular among civil rights groups? Why is there such an appeal to the privatization of public education instead of educational reform from within the system? In practice, does competition equate better educational opportunities for all? Is there a middle ground of an extremely well-regulated charter school system that goes in tandem with the public school system? What states have been able to figure it out?
Maryland seems to be one of the few states with consistently successful charter schools because it is one of the most restrictive in the country. Charter school teachers are public school employees and are unionized. Only the local school board can authorize charter schools. They are under strict oversight and regulation. A majority of the charters are in Baltimore (34 out of 47), and many are "mom and pop" charters, meaning parents or former local educators founded them, as opposed to some of the larger national charter management organizations.
Governor Hogan introduced a bill to try and give more freedom to charter schools in 2015. It became extremely watered down, and what was passed into law, did not make the impact that the pro-charter interests were hoping. The bill ended up granting "greater autonomy to charters that have demonstrated five years of
success, and it provides for increased flexibility with student
enrollment. The bill also authorizes the Maryland State Department of
Education (MSDE) and the DLS to complete a study by the end of October
2016 to determine what a more appropriate figure should be for districts
when it comes to commensurate funding." A New Course: Larry Hogan wants to change Maryland's unique charter school laws and bring in more charters, but will kids suffer?
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