State still needs to provide full access and equity for independent charters
Washington, D.C. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nina Rees released the following statement today on the Wisconsin Legislatures Joint Finance Committees votes on the K-12 education budget and the University of Wisconsin budget:
Over the past two weeks, the Wisconsin Legislatures Joint Finance Committee enacted provisions within the K-12 education budget and the University of Wisconsin budget that make necessary improvements to the states public charter school law, which is one of the weakest in the country.
Of the several improvements made in the two budgets, the most notable changes include the following:
Creates new pathways to approve independent public charter schools in the state, most notably via the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents in Madison and Milwaukee.
Increases per-pupil funding for independent charters by $120 per pupil over the two years of the budget (from $8,075 to $8,195).
Makes it easier for independent charters in Milwaukee to access vacant and underutilized school district buildings.
Makes independent charters eligible for state transportation aid.
Provides a more sustainable approach to funding the independent charters created under the new authorizing entities.
Lifts the states caps on the authorizing activity of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Strengthens charter school and authorizer accountability.
Increases the independence and the autonomy of charter school governing boards.
Notwithstanding these changes, the state still needs to make some critical modifications to its law. Specifically, it needs to allow independent charters statewide (preferably by giving the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents statewide authority), fund independent charter students equitably, and fix the antiquated approach to funding the existing independent charters.
The National Alliance would like to take this opportunity to thank legislative leaders, especially Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Dale Kooyenga, for their hard work on these budget provisions. Sen. Darlings and Rep. Kooyengas leadership to create an environment more supportive of high-quality public charter school options for Wisconsin students has been strong and unwavering.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter 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, manyindependent 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 our website atwww.publiccharters.org.
