Statement by Charles Barone, DFER Policy Director
Earlier this week, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring May 4-10 “National Charter Schools Week” during which “we pay tribute to the role our Nation’s public charter schools play in advancing opportunity, and we salute the parents, educators, community leaders, policymakers, and philanthropists who gave rise to the charter school sector.”
We ask that members of Congress, in the spirit of President Obama’s proclamation, vote in favor of H.R. 10, the bipartisan Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act, in today’s floor vote on the bill. H.R. 10 was co-authored by Ranking Education and Workforce Committee Member George Miller. Here are four key reasons why this bill unequivocally warrants a yes vote from Democrats.
Democrats Have A Long History as Public Charter School Champions
Former President Bill Clinton was one of the earliest proponents of public charter schools from either party. He spearheaded passage of the first federal charter school law in 1994 when California and Minnesota were the only states with charter laws. Twenty years later, more than 2 million U.S. students in 42 states attend public charter schools.
In remarks to the National Education Association in 1999, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton said: “I stand behind the charter school/public school movement, because parents do deserve greater choice within the public school system to meet the unique needs of their children…When we look back on the 1990s, we will see that the charter school movement will be one of the ways we will have turned around the entire public school system.” Few of us anticipated how true her vision would turn out to be.
Many other prominent Democrats also support charter schools, including: Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles; Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of the Children’s Defense Fund; Michael Lomax, President and CEO, UNCF (United Negro College Fund); Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York; Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland; Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR (National Council of La Raza); and former Vermont Governor and Presidential candidate Howard Dean.*
The last time a bill to reauthorize the federal Charter School Program came to the floor for a vote in 2011, the entire House Democratic leadership voted in favor, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, and Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus Xavier Becerra.
Charter Schools Are Public Schools
Despite strong Democratic support for public charter schools, some Democrats are still misinformed about how public charter schools operate. A charter school is an independent public school. Charters are founded by groups of people (e.g., educators, parents, community leaders, etc.) who develop a plan that sets forth the school’s guiding principles and policies. To operate a school, that plan must get approval from a state-recognized charter authorizer that will oversee it once it begins operating.
The organizations that run public charter schools have the same structure, and often include many of the same people, as those that run community-based child care programs, Head Start centers, after-school and summer programs, and Boys and Girls Clubs. Charter schools no more “privatize” K-12 education than any of those entities privatize the other vital services we support for young people in our communities.
Charter Schools Most Help Disadvantaged Students
The well-known Stanford CREDO study on public charter school performance is often quoted by supporters and critics alike. Some individuals cherry-pick data to claim that charters are no better than traditional public schools, and in some cases, worse.
But these critics leave out other important facts. CREDO’s findings tell a much different story about how charters impact the learning of our nation’s most disadvantaged students. The following are verbatim quotes from the CREDO report:
“Looking back to the demographics of the charter school sector in the 27 states [that were studied], charter school enrollment has expanded among students in poverty, black students, and Hispanic students. These are precisely the students that, on average, find better outcomes in charter schools. These findings lend support to the education and social policies that focus on education as the mechanism to improve life chances for historically underserved students. Charter schools are especially beneficial learning environments for these students.”
H.R. 10 Makes Excellence and Equity the Hallmarks of the Federal Charter Schools Program
H.R. 10 will make quality paramount in the public charter school authorization process and ensure that charters equitably serve historically disadvantaged groups of students. H.R. 10:
- Strengthens the mechanisms through which public charter schools are held accountable to students, families, and taxpayers so that high-performing public charter schools are replicated and low-performing public charter schools are closed;
- Puts into law a federal grant program created by President Obama that invests in the replication and expansion of high-quality charter schools;
- Allows charter schools to use “weighted lotteries” to give a preference to disadvantaged children, including English Language learners and students with disabilities. Many states, due to concern that some of these populations may be underserved by charter schools, have laws requiring such weighted lotteries.
In summary, H.R. 10 deserves the support of charter proponents and skeptics alike. We appreciate your consideration of these issues and the positive effect that a yes vote on Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act will have on thousands of families who are seeking the best educational opportunities possible for their children.
———————————-
* Meant solely to identify these individuals as supporters of charter schools. Not meant to connote an endorsement of this specific bill.