Washington, D.C. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schoolspresident and CEO Nina Rees released the following statement today in response to Ohio State Auditor David Yosts proposal to fund the states full-time virtual charter schools based upon performance:
“We commend Ohio State Auditor David Yost for recommending that Ohio change how it funds full-time virtual charter schools. His proposed move to a learning-based funding model, aligned to the unique environments represented by the full-time virtual model, would help promote quality and accountability, and ensure the students of such schools are receiving the high-quality education they deserve.
“While recognizing that some full-time virtual charter schools are providing an effective and innovative education to students with specialized needs, the National Alliance believes that changing to a learning-based funding model is appropriate given the unique problems that have emerged among too many full-time virtual charter schools. We urge Ohio lawmakers to work with Auditor Yost and the states charter school community to design and implement learning-based funding for full-time virtual charter schools in a way that leads to improved results in these schools.
“Ohio has one of the largest numbers of students enrolled in full-time virtual charter schools in the country. At the same time, according to two recent studies, Online Charter School Study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University and Enrollment and Achievement in Ohio’s Virtual Charter Schools by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, the full-time virtual charter school sector in Ohio is significantly underperforming.
“These reports and Auditor Yost’s proposal echo what the National Alliance is seeing in full-time virtual charter schools across the nation. In partnership with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and the 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now, our June 2016 report entitled A Call to Action to Improve the Quality of Full-Time Virtual Charter Schools found that the breadth of the underperformance by full-time virtual charter schools convinces us that states need to change the policy framework within which these schools can operate. The report recommends that states should explore funding models for full-time virtual charter schools based upon the progress schools make toward interim and yearly goals, including funding based upon course completion. The National Alliance is pleased to see Auditor Yost making a similar recommendation and working to ensure that Ohio’s full-time virtual charter schools become more effective and accountable to the students they serve.”
About Charter Public Schools
Charter public schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.