Andy Rotherham (who is a DFER board member) has a fun think piece for policy wonks in the latest from Education Sector: Fair Trade: Five Deals to Expand and Improve Charter Schooling.
His starting point assumes that not much happens in ed policy without some horse-trading, and he offers a few deals that he argues will both expand and improve public charter schools in states brave enough to accept his challenge/advice:
1. Trade charter school caps for quality-sensitive “smart” caps. Allow proven success charter models to expand more easily in exchange for a system which doesn’t allow unfettered growth of crappy charter schools.
2. Trade test scores for space. Allow crappy schools that agree to host charter schools in their buildings to use the charter’s test scores to bail out the crappy school when it comes time to determining AYP under NCLB or other state accountability systems.
3. Trade transition aid for facilities. If districts want to be allowed to profit each time a student leaves for a charter school (the theory behind most transition aid schemes) they should be required to provide school space for public charter schools.
4. Support for adequate funding levels for public education in exchange for weighted student formula and more charters.
5. Trade unionization of some charters for common-sense labor contracts.