Gov Baker Proposes Bill To Allow More Charter Schools

At Baker’s event, Rodolfo Aguilar, the parent of two Brooke Charter School students, cried as he thanked Baker for supporting charter schools. Sonia Chang-Diaz, to lay out a case and proposed path forward to expand and more closely align charter schools with traditional public school districts.

Baker’s proposal still has to get passed the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and it will face opposition. “So you can’t just spread it evenly across all students”, said Alison Perkins-Cohen, executive director of new initiatives for Baltimore City Public Schools.

The bill would permit 12 new or expanded charters per year across the state. Statewide, more than 30,000 students attend charter schools.

Only a few weeks ago, some Baltimore City charter schools thought they were going to have to shut down next school year.

“A lottery is a lottery”.

Baker says the bill will focus the new growth in the lowest performing districts.

Dozens of students from the Brooke Charter School joined the governor, holding signs that read, “Lift the cap” in both English and Spanish.

The governor’s proposal could be up for a public hearing as early as Tuesday. Baker told reporters he personally planned to testify before the committee. “Charter schools siphon funds from public education”.

In a story October 7 about charter school legislation, The Associated Press erroneously identified a co-sponsor of Senate portions of the bill. Peyser said the charter schools would have to guarantee admission to students now in the school, and the district would turn operations over to the charter operator.

A campaign to allow more charters, public schools that often operate independent of local school systems, has been gathering momentum on other fronts. The newly-created charter schools will serve students; particularly minority and low-income students.

The next caucus on charters is tentatively scheduled for next week.

With additional reporting from Andy Metzger of the State House News Service.

There is precedent for using impending ballot questions as leverage.

The union argues that expanding charter schools drains money from public schools, which accept all students.

State Sen. Peggy Lehner, a sponsor of key elements of the reform bill, said she expects action by the General Assembly to influence meetings set for next week on a federal grant of $71 million over the next five years that Ohio has received from the U.S. Department of Education’s charter office.

“There have been examples of success, there have also been examples of it shifting resources that are already stretched very thin- so I think we need to proceed cautiously on this issue”, Lesser said. Under Baker’s proposal, a district could now choose to incorporate charter schools into such a system.

“I think there will be a convergence”, he said.

Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, called the bill “outrageous”.