Texas Charter Schools Lost in Lawsuit, Hope to Win in Legislature

According to KUHF News, a Texas judge denied public charter schools more facilities funding in a recent lawsuit, a decision charter school advocates hope the Texas Supreme Court will overrule. “School districts get combined in state and local funds a little over $1,000 dollars per student for facilities,” said David Dunn, head of the Texas Charter Schools Association. “We think the state should provide directly to charter schools $1,000 per student to cover the cost of facilities so they can pay the mortgage or pay the rent.” Dunn would also like to see the cap on the number of charter school operators removed. “Imagine if you will Cowboy Stadium full to the brim standing room only of youngsters who want to attend a charter school in Texas,” he said. This week, state Senator Dan Patrick filed a bill which would eliminate the cap and provide about $150 per charter school student for facilities funding.

Source: KUHF News

Texas Bill Could Be Most Important Change to Charter Law Since 1995

According to the Austin American-Statesman, a bill filed by Texas Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick could potentially be the most consequential change to the state’s charter school law since its inception in 1995. The bill would lift the restrictions on the expansion of charter schools in Texas, which are currently capped at 215 operators. It would also create a new, independent entity to authorize and oversee them. “Lifting the cap just sends the message that we want to attract great out-of-state charters to the state as well as give rise to the next KIPP or Yes (Prep) or IDEA,” said Patrick, naming some of Texas’ homegrown, high-performing charter networks.“We think that this bill will allow charter schools to grow much more rapidly to meet the needs of the 100,000 kids on the waiting lists,” said David Dunn, executive director of the Texas Charter Schools Association.

Source: Austin American-Statesman

Vote on Tennessee State Charter Authorizer Postponed

According to News Channel 5 and the Nashville Scene, Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell postponed a vote Tuesday on a bill that would create a state charter school authorizer for Nashville and Memphis. The House Education Committee heard testimony from parents on Tuesday about the bill. Changes have been suggested to the bill, including a stronger appeals process for schools that are turned down by the local school board, and making the state authorizer available statewide. “What we want to do is have the highest quality public charter schools available in this city and that's my goal and that's what we'll keep working on," Harwell said. "I'm not set on anything. All I want to do is give my mayor the tool he needs to recruit the best public charter schools for this city. So that's what we're discussing right now, how to go about doing that."

Sources: Nashville Scene, News Channel 5

Charter Schools' Discipline Policies Face Scrutiny

According to Education Week, school officials in Newark, New Orleans and San Diego have taken steps to ensure that discipline policies at both public charter and traditional public schools treat students fairly. There is a wide variation in both charter and traditional public school disciplinary practices, and a debate over whether “zero tolerance” policies exclude too many students from both kinds of schools. An analysis of federal data shows that the expulsion rate for public charter schools is no higher than for traditional public schools, but some charter school discipline policies have come under scrutiny. Louisiana’s Recovery School District, which runs most of the public schools in New Orleans, last year created a centralized admissions, transfer, and expulsion process. “If a school can provide a safe and supportive, nurturing environment, students are more likely to stay, and they'll develop the skills they need," said Greg Richmond, the president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

Sources: Education Week here, and here

Charter Discipline: A Tale of Two Students

Education Week profiled two students at Chicago’s Noble public charter school network which runs 12 schools in Chicago and has a strict code of conduct. Ronda Coleman said the rules create a safe environment, a welcome change for her daughter after the traditional public schools where behavior was often “wild.” "When you don't follow the rules, there's a consequence," Coleman said. Donna Moore’s son left Noble after repeated disciplinary incidents. Noble’s superintendent, Michael Milkie, said he and his wife were inspired to create Noble after teaching in Chicago’s traditional public schools. "One of the things we looked to implement right away was a structured, strong discipline code that teaches students proper behavior and allows teachers to teach and students to learn," he said. "Some kids do leave because of the discipline code, but far more stay because they've learned the self-discipline that carries them through college and career success.”

Source: Education Week

KIPP CEO Addresses School Discipline Questions

As part of its series on discipline policies at public charter schools, Education Week interviewed KIPP CEO Richard Barth. “We structure our schools around a three-way partnership between students, parents, and teachers,” Barth said. “School culture is so vitally important, and we strive to create an atmosphere where everyone is inspired to do their very best. What we've found is that the schools are most successful at creating this culture when they have a standard of behavior that's cohesive and clear.” Barth said that uniform discipline policies across district and charter schools are part of the general shift towards “a ‘one city’ or ‘one community’ model. Discipline policies are a part of that, but there's so much more: Districts and charters are sharing facilities, professional-development approaches, sports teams, enrollment strategies, and a whole host of other best practices and resources.”

Source: Education Week

Chicago Charter School Enrollment Climbs

According to Chicago Magazine , enrollment in public charter schools in Chicago has spiked in recent years, increasing 191 percent between 2005 and 2011. St. Louis and Atlanta also had large percentage increases over the same period, rising 147 and 135 percent, respectively. Overall, 11.1 percent of Chicago students attend public charter schools, a slightly bigger share than Atlanta’s 10.3 percent and a significantly smaller one than St. Louis’ 31.1 percent.

Source: Chicago Magazine

New Jersey Approves Two New Charter Schools

According to NJ Spotlight , the New Jersey Department of Education last week approved two new public charter schools out of nine applications. State Education Commissioner Chris Cerf described both schools as “proven models with strong track records.” One school will be part of the Ascend Learning charter network, which Cerf said runs “highest-performing school in Brooklyn with high-poverty students.” Cerf said he was seeking a balance between new charters run by existing networks and independent charters. “We’re looking at models that work, and definitely seeing some one-off schools that have tremendous potential,” he said. “But this is really hard work, and we are looking for good reasons to give a charter, and one point of evidence is they have a track record of success.” New Jersey is already home to schools run by charter networks including KIPP, Uncommon Schools and Mastery. Another round of charter school applications will be considered in April.

Source: NJ Spotlight

New York’s Success Academy to Open Six New Charter Schools in 2014

According to DNAinfo, New York City’s Success Academy public charter school network plans to open six more campuses in 2014, beginning with kindergarten and first grade and adding a grade each year through eighth grade. Success Academy submitted a letter of intent for the schools to the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Institute. Success Academy already runs 14 elementary and middle schools in the city and plans to open another six in fall 2013.

Source: DNAinfo