The Charter Blog
31 Jul 2007
Court Holds for Charter Funding Equity; John Q. Public Agrees.
Not a bad one, two.
Two education stories harmonically converged around a simple point yesterday – that kids in charter schools should get the same funding as other public school kids.
A new survey with quite a pedigree ("The Program on Education Policy and Governance’s Education Next at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University", or "Harvard/Hoover") said that three-quarters of Americans believe that charter schools should be given at least the same amount of funding per child as district-operated public schools.
And in a landmark ruling, seven of nine judges on Maryland’s highest court agreed, ruling that charter schools are entitled to receive as much money per pupil as regular public schools. For years Maryland districts have been driving Mack trucks through language in the state's weak law that calls for charter funding "commensurate" with district-run schools. The court ruled, amazingly enough, that the word should be taken literally – which means closing a huge gap in per-pupil spending between charters and other public schools (as in $5,859 vs. $13,000).
Cool as this decision is, its impact may be short-lived, since it was based on current legislative language and not some underlying constitutional principle like equal protection. Look for charter opponents to push for the status quo ante in the 2008 session.
But they should remember....75 percent of the public agrees with us!
TZ and NS
For those who want to read the full ruling, here it is.
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July 31 2007
Miller Outlines Proposed Changes for NCLB
Comment »Court: Charter schools get equal funding
Comment »30 Jul 2007
Miller Shoots for September
Leading House Dem previews NCLB strategy...
In a National Press Club speech this morning, House Ed and Labor Chair George Miller laid down markers for NCLB reauthorization, saying he intends to get a bill out of committee and approved on the floor in September.
The "c" word wasn't mentioned this morning but there was a lot to like for charter folks: use of growth models in Adequate Yearly Progress; repeated emphasis on replicating and scaling effective schools (which is a key component of the Alliance's proposed reforms; and -- stop the presses – "performance pay" for teachers, using some kind of student achievement measures in the mix.
Clearly the bill is not quite soup at this point. We've heard that committee negotiations have hit some rocks over whether to use "multiple measures" for AYP (the tough-accountability folks retreating not an inch from reading 'n math, the flexibility flock wanting feelgood stuff). The tension was evident in Miller's talk. He wants "additional valid and reliable measures to assess student learning and school performance more fairly, comprehensively, and accurately" but also made clear that reading and math will have pride of place. (Or, as he put it: if a kid can't read and do math but you claim he's nevertheless great in astrophysics, you'd better check your astrophysics standards. Nice line.)
NS
UPDATE: Ranking Member McKeon's Statement
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