Dive Brief:
- California charter schools already enroll 10% of the state’s public school population, but the California Charter School Association is pushing to increase that portion to one in six children by 2022, and its expansion efforts have drawn fierce opposition.
- EdSource reports charter school advocates have worked to get sympathetic school board members and legislators elected, raising $24 million for this election cycle alone, which has prompted the California Teachers Association to increase its own lobbying pressure on allies to increase regulation of the charter sector, and it has contributed nearly $33 million to its own causes this campaign season.
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation’s plan to nearly double enrollment in Los Angeles Unified Public School District’s charters rallied the opposition, which has argued charter schools are siphoning so many students away from public schools they can’t maintain high levels of services with such low enrollment.
Dive Insight:
A similarly contentious charter school fight has been roiling Massachusetts ahead of the Nov. 8 election, when voters will decide whether to lift a cap on charter schools and allow 12 new charters each year, whether for new schools or expansions of existing networks. So far, charter opponents seem to be winning over voters with their argument that charters are bad for public schools in a state that is known for having good ones.
The charter fight is sure to be an important one for years to come. Charters have reached a critical mass in many districts around the country, creating capacity problems. As charter growth continues, more districts will meet this threshold. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has suggested urban districts with large numbers of charter schools should shift all district schools into a charter accountability framework, closing them, like charters, if they don’t meet performance expectations.
