The National Education Association released its 2019 report card on the charter industry, and the findings were dismal.
As one would expect, public money+weak regulation+lax oversight=fraud, waste, and abuse.
Of the 44 states that allow charters schools (plus D.C. and Puerto Rico), only five jurisdictions rate “mediocre” or better.
The report, titled “State Charter Laws: NEA Report Card,” concludes found that nearly every state (44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico currently have charter schools) is failing to require adequate oversight over the charter school sector. Statutes in forty states received “F” grades. Five states that have laws requiring some oversight received “mediocre” ratings, with grades ranging from “D” to “C-“.
Maryland is the only state that received an “adequate” rating – a grade of “B-”.
The report card’s grades were based on four tenets that the NEA set forth in its 2017 report:
- Charters must be genuinely public schools in every respect.
- Charters must be accountable to the public via open and transparent governance.
- Charters must be approved, overseen, and evaluated by local school boards.
- Charters must be providers of high quality education for their students.
Almost every state’s charters received a grade of F.
There have recently been comments posted on this blog insisting that Minnesota actually does have “public charter schools,” but the NEA assigns a grade of F to the charters in that state.
Overall, it’s not a pretty picture.
According to the NEA report, a number of states do not require even the most rudimentary, commonsense protections that parents and communities rightly insist upon for all other taxpayer-funded schools. Furthermore, many states don’t bother to require charter school teachers to meet the same certification requirements as public school teachers. And in too many states, charter school operators are allowed to establish a school, almost no questions asked. Community input is either not solicited or ignored, or both. In addition, they are often given the green light despite the absence of any analysis determining if such a school is even necessary.
The report notes the growing backlash against charters, as the public realizes that they do not cost less, they are not more accountable, and they do not produce better education than the public schools they displace.
The teachers’ strikes of the past year have targeted charters as part of the Trump-DeVos-ALEC plan for privatization of public education, and striking teachers have demanded a moratorium (California) or no charter law at all (West Virginia).
The charter industry desperately needs accountability, the one thing it promised when its advocates began touting the virtues of charters in the late 1980s. That promise has not been kept, and now the charter industry threatens the financial stability of public education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We have odd rules in MD in regards to Charter schools. Although they still employ TFAers, I believe that most of the teaching staff are certified teachers and are paid fairly well (considering other states). I believe the “lottery” to get in is geared more toward neighborhood area and cherry picking is minimal. This all stems from a very strong Teacher’s Union. I just wish that the Union would be more vocal about the data driven, test prep curriculum and hellish standardized testing that we have here.
too often the union has been complicit with pushing ALL of those things in our district
Charter schools offer no miracle cures. They simply transfer public money to private corporations. The federal and state governments have failed to require oversight and accountability. Privatization has been a free market, free for all that has failed to deliver on its promises. This sector has attracted numerous profiteers, embezzlers and grifters. It is time to abandon this failed experiment and invest in public schools where all students benefit from the investment.
In this report card from NEA, the majority of states receive an “F” rating. Why are we allowing such poor stewardship of public dollars for no better academic results? This is reckless policy that undermines the public schools most students attend.
Posted at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/NEA-State-Report-Card-on-C-in-General_News-Charter-Schools_Diane-Ravitch_Education_Laws-190516-722.html#comment733951
With comments that have embedded links to Diane’s posts at Oped. Put in the addresses.
Remember, also, that it education gives our people the skills to do work, and thus, by destroying public education for all he people a! What you are witnessing something to which the nation is blinded is the EFFECT/impact of removal of the INSTITUTION of public education (it ain’t just about ‘the schools)”
This is about income inequality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM
(You saw this video before; don’t lose the link” it is wonderful” and not even recent!
You see, the power-elite, ( of whom Betsy DeVos is a perfect example) https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2019/05/08/betsy-devos-as-clickbait/
need to make wage-slaves of the people in this nation.
Look at what Mitch McConnell says out loud ! OMG! https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Mitch-McConnell-Is-Gearing-in-General_News-Mitch-Mcconnell_Power_Senate_Socialism-For-The-Rich-190427-570.html#comment732082
For shame!
and look who loves private schools.
Maurice Cunningham, a dogged investigator of Dark Money, has discovered a shell operation funded by the multibillionaire Walton family. http://www.masspoliticsprofs.org/2019/04/22/keri-rodriguez-goes-coastal-with-plans-for-national-parents-union/
It is called the “National Patents Union,” and its goal is to defund public schools and transfer public money to private hands.
Submitted on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 2:49:04 PM
In case you don’t have time to read the full report released by “In the Public Interest” about the real costs of charter schools, Jan Resseger has done it for you. https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/16168/
Legislators pretend that charters are simply a “choice,” and pay no attention to the fiscal damage they impose on the public schools that educate the majority of children and lose revenue. Thus, the decision to have more charters reduces the quality of education for the majority of children in the district or the state.
Take that Devos you champion of cherters. You are rich, stupid and an education failure.
I watched last year as an Arizona legislator argued against a bill requiring more charter accountability. He said that we don’t ask government employees to explain how they spend their paychecks, so we have no right to ask charters how they spend their money once it’s given to them-that there was no difference. This attitude is why we have the mess we have here!
I think it is useful to compare the NEA report agsainst the charter policy wish list and ratings that are posted by the misnamed “public charter” organization.
As for the NEA rankings, I have no idea what this means:
Charters must be providers of high quality education for their students.
The phrase “high quality has a specific meaning in the charter industry with test scores and graduate rates the key metrics for “high quality.” NEA should be able to do more than be an echo chamber, especially when you see where the charter industry wants to go.
https://www.publiccharters.org/our-work/charter-law-database/components
Valuable report and in line with the NPE investigative research.
I’m surprised there is no mention of suspensions, discipline, and expulsion which is a common practice, particularly after the charter gets its state money – – and no mention of students with disabilities enrollments or forced out (or parents don’t bother to apply).
Those would be / should be significant points in the score card.