The League of Women Voters in Missouri released a strong condemnation of rightwing legislators’ effort to expand charter schools.
“The League of Women Voters of Missouri opposes charter school expansion because:
• Charter schools are not held to the same standards as traditional public schools. They are “freed” from having to comply with most state regulations that are designed to ensure a minimum level of adequacy, including being accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. For example, 100 percent of faculty in traditional public schools must meet state certification standards, while only 80 percent of charter school faculty members must be appropriately certificated.
• Charter schools are not required to serve their “fair share” of students who present many challenges such as significant disabilities, homelessness, and those recently released from juvenile detention programs. This inequity results in higher concentrations of students who require significantly more resources in traditional public schools.
• Charter schools are governed by boards that are privately appointed, not elected, and such boards often employ private for-profit corporations to operate publicly funded charter schools. This significantly weakens accountability and contributes to citizens becoming “disinvested” from their local public schools.
• There is an unfounded belief that charter schools are superior to traditional public schools and therefore provide parents with an advantageous choice. Studies of charter school academic achievement do not demonstrate that they are better than traditional public schools. Parents expect superior outcomes when placing their children in charter schools. Unfortunately, such is often not the case, and all too often charter school outcomes are actually inferior to those of traditional public schools.
For these reasons, the charter school program in Missouri is seriously flawed. HB634 has already passed the Missouri House and is headed to the Senate. The League of Women Voters of Missouri calls for the defeat of HB 634. Please contact your senator as a constituent opposing charter school expansion.
In this area, Sen. Caleb Rowden’s email is: caleb.rowden@senate.mo.gov or (573) 751-3931.”
Peggy Placier and Diane Suhler are co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hope that the League of Women Voters will take on a national campaign. A growing problem is reversing legislation, not just trying to halt it before it is in place.
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Can you blame state legislators for focusing exclusively on “choice” schools and utterly abandoning public schools?
This is the conventional wisdom. Did you hear Trump today? Reciting the ed reform line where he bashed public schools and proclaimed that charters were better.
God forbid any of them should do their own thinking.
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“God forbid any of them should do their own thinking.”
Hate to say it but one can easily make that comment about the GAGA adminimals and teachers who implement all of the malpractices on a daily basis, cheerleading the whole time.
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That’s why we have two parties. The Republicans advocating for schools run by contractors and, the League of Women Voters fighting for the 90%’s common goods and democracy.
Wait…there’s something wrong with this picture.
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Glad to hear the League of Women Voters taking a thoughtful and considered stand on an important issue. As one would expect.
Except in NY the organization just took a very concerning and frankly, disturbing stand on the state Constitutional Convention question. Last week The League of Women Voters NY came out in favor of a Constitutional Convention. This is a naive decision at best, and a reckless and possibly dangerous decision at worst.
If successful, a Constitutional Convention would open up the state constitution to fundamental changes. And while in theory, and in another political climate there could be some tolerance for the fantasy that doing this could possibly bring about positive change, thinking that way in the face of all the surreal actions of the past 75+ days reflects a blindness to reality.
Yes, there are many things that we may wish were different – convicted politicians should not be able to collect their full pensions, the state legislature seems perpetually caught up in scandal and backroom deal making, and oh yes, those pesky public schools are making it difficult for charter chains and vouchers to get their fair share of the education market in the state. Thinking positive change is possible through this “nuclear option” in our current reality is hard to understand.
You see, when that constitution gets opened by a convention, EVERYTHING is on the table. Yes, all the teacher-haters could gleefully go after our unions and pensions, but the funding and support for public schools in general would also be on the table, and protection of public park lands, and many other vulnerable institutions.
There are other ways to enact change. The same dark money that just changed our entire political landscape in the country is targeting states with constitutional convention questions on their ballots. Opening our state constitution at this time is a risky and dangerous option.
But in the end, it’s up to the voters.
The last time voters voted in favor of a CC was in 1968 and after a large amount of money was spent on deliberations, none of the proposed changes were enacted. There is no recent historical precedent pointing to this being a responsible use of taxpayer money.
I urge all to learn more about this question and vote NO in November.
PS There is no such thing as a “People’s Convention.” This is a misleading marketing tactic of a supposedly progressive thinking person/group. The convention will be held by delegates from the usual pool of mostly already employed state politicians.
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