Arkansas Lawmakers to Consider Changes to Charter School Law

According to the Republic, both chambers of the Arkansas Legislature are expected to consider making changes to the way the state approves public charter schools in the upcoming legislative session. Currently, charter schools are authorized and monitored by the state Board of Education. Laurie Lee, executive director of the Arkansas Reform Alliance, said her group would like to see an independent authorizer for charter schools. Sen. Johnny Key, incoming chair of the Senate Education Committee, said he may be open to a new independent authorizer. "The more options we have for educational opportunities the better," he said. Arkansas currently has 18 open enrollment charter schools, with three more set to open next year. A sliding cap, currently set at 24, increases by five whenever the number of open-enrollment charter schools rises within two slots of the limit. The state also has 14 district conversion charter schools.

Source: Republic

New Jersey Lawmakers’ Stance on Online Charters Evolves During Hearings

According to NJ Spotlight, the New Jersey Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Public Schools last week held the third of four hearings on online charter schools. Committee Chair Connie Wagner said her understanding of the issues had grown far more nuanced after the hearings and a visit to blended school in Newark. “There is a place for online learning, there is a place for it,” Wagner said. “Especially for the students 17-to-19 years old, there is a tremendous need for it.” Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, who last spring proposed a 12-month moratorium on new online charters, said that bill no longer has much support. “It’s not really something I’m pushing anymore,” he said. “It will be in there, it’s the future,” he said of online learning. “But we can’t just give carte blanche authorization without knowing where we’re at.” Two blended-learning charters opened this year. Two virtual charter schools have been preliminarily approved, but are not yet open.

Source: NJ Spotlight

Mississippi Charter School Advocates Continue Push for Approval

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Mississippi legislators hoping to pass a public charter schools bill this session are expected face opposition from lawmakers representing the more affluent areas of the state, such as DeSoto County. During the last legislative session, a bill that would have allowed the creation of new public charter schools failed by one vote in the House Education Committee after passing in the Senate. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves led a tour last week to a KIPP school in Helena, Arkansas. “There are tens of thousands of kids in Mississippi who are trapped in failing schools with no option, and we've got to get beyond that. That's really what the push for charter schools is all about." Reeves said. "I would argue that there are some kids in DeSoto County right now, even though you have a very good public school system, who would be better served in a different environment.”

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Walton Foundation Grant to Support Effort to Tighten Charter Oversight

According to Education Week’s Charters & Choice blog, the Walton Family Foundation has given a $5.2 million grant to a program aimed at increasing oversight of public charter schools and closing low-performing charters. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) recently announced its "One Million Lives" campaign to encourage higher standards for charter schools and their authorizers. "Public charter school authorizers are responsible for opening high-performing schools, and they also bear responsibility for shutting down low-performers," Ed Kirby, a Walton Family Foundation senior program, said in a statement. "Too many authorizers are falling short on both parts of their jobs, and NACSA is well positioned to guide authorizers toward the creation of a bigger and higher quality charter school market across the country."

Source: Education Week

Nearly Half a Million Students Enroll in California Charters

According to the Heartland.org, enrollment in California’s public charter schools increased by 17 percent in the 2012-13 school year, bringing the total number of charter school students to more than 484,000 since the state began allowing them 20 years ago. This year, 109 new charter schools opened, bringing the state’s total to 1,065. California Charter Schools Association President Jed Wallace said last year, low-income charter students were five times more likely than their non-charter peers to attend a school in the top-fifth academic performance percentiles. Around 10,000 children are on waiting lists for charter schools in Los Angeles, where 40 new charter schools opened in fall 2012. "We're a district that recognizes the diversity of the city and do not rely a one-size-fits-all model," said José Cole-Gutiérrez, director of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Charter Schools Division. "We want high-quality options for all students."

Source: Heartland.org

Charter School Leaders to Gather in Tacoma

According to the Bellingham Herald, leaders from public charter schools in five states will gather in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday to talk about their experiences starting schools. Speakers include Yvonne Chan, founder of Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles, the first traditional school in California to convert to charter status, and Marta Reyes, the first director of California’s Division of Charter Schools. Representatives will also be on hand from the California-based Green Dot Public Charter Schools and KIPP of Colorado. The day-long event is being co-sponsored by the Seattle-based Washington Charter School Resource Center and the Association of Washington Business.

Source: Bellingham Herald

Great Boards for Great Schools

On his Education Week blog, Tom Vander Ark explains why he recently joined the board of Charter Board Partners [CBP], which promotes “quality at scale by recruiting and training great boards for great schools.” According to CBP, "A highly effective charter school board believes in and commits to the mission of the school, and understands that if the school is to achieve its mission, the board must: focus relentlessly on student achievement, recruit and retain an exceptional leaders, invest in exemplary governance, act strategically and hold the board accountable, raise and use resources wisely; and commit steadfastly to legal and regulatory compliance." Vander Ark writes: “We need more good schools. Good schools have good boards. That's why I support Charter Board Partners.”

Source: Education Week