NM isn’t the only place where there’s an ongoing controversy over charter schools, and whether we should have more or less of them, and how they should be designed, structured and regulated. Here’s an article from LA Times that goes into depth about an upcoming school board election there, with implications for the present and future of charter schools there, and probably elsewhere in the nation.
One thing that might help clarify the pro and con discussions regarding charter schools, is that “charter schools” come in many many different varieties with different regulations and laws governing them in different locales and regions. It’s not helpful to see them as a monolithic entity, for which generalizations apply no matter what the local and regional variations might be.
For example, according to the LA Times story, LA charter school advocates oppose vouchers and for profit charter schools, though they strongly support other versions of charter schools. As charter schools will likely continue to be governed locally, and under state law, the role of the Feds in determining what role various types of charter schools will play, is unclear.
[gview file=”https://publicservicesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Could-the-L.A.-school-boards-balance-of-power-tip-pro-charter-LA-Times.pdf”]Already, no other school system in the nation has more charters or charter students than L.A. Their increasing numbers are a result not just of their popularity but also of a major push by philanthropists advocating market-driven reform, with increased school choice for parents and accountability based on test scores.
School choice also is a focus of the Trump administration’s emerging education plans. In his first speech to Congress, the president said he wanted lawmakers to pass a bill “that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African American and Latino children. These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school that is right for them.”
L.A.’s charter-friendly school-board candidates say that they see choice much more narrowly. They oppose for-profit charters as well as vouchers, which are government-funded subsidies that help parents pay for private schools.