Whenever the topic of charter school policy and legislation comes up, someone always manages to bring up the idea of \u201cMultiple Authorizers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0At first blush, \u201cmultiple authorizers\u201d may seem like a good idea.\u00a0 In addition to a state-wide group such as a state commission for charter schools, why not let local school districts authorize charters?\u00a0 Some states let universities authorize charters.<\/p>\n
But it gets tricky! In addition to a state authorizer, numerous university authorizers, and many local district authorizers, some states let the mayors of cities authorize charters.\u00a0 Some states have a state-wide authorizer that certifies\u00a0 non-profit corporations to, in turn, authorize charters.\u00a0 And some states come very close to allowing schools to authorize their own conversion into charters.<\/p>\n
The concept of multiple authorizers cannot be discussed apart from accountability oversight. Accountability oversight is a function that should be, but often is not, tied very tightly to the authorization function.\u00a0 One may have strict authorization and lax oversight or lax authorization and strict oversight.\u00a0 Some states may have these two functions totally de-coupled: some groups may authorize while some other groups perform oversight.<\/p>\n
Funding the authorizers is another function that must be considered.\u00a0 Some states fund authorizer(s) out of general education dollars, while others force charter schools to rebate their authorizer a percentage of their gross revenue for authorization and oversight duties.\u00a0 Such funding issues create conflicts in the process.<\/p>\n
Watching other states who have some degree of multiple authorization readily reveals many problems.<\/p>\n
Upon reflection, \u201cauthorizers\u201d are needed only because objective, measurable criteria do not exist against which proposed charter schools may be measured.\u00a0 A learned team of experts with a crystal ball seems to fill this void of measurable objectivity.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, rather than one state-wide authorizer or multiple authorizers, the optimal number of charter school authorizers is 0 (zero).\u00a0 Face up to the task of agreeing upon a uniform set of objective, measurable criteria and grant whomever meets them a charter.\u00a0 Building codes are objective, measurable criteria for construction; and they exist to protect the occupants, the public, and the community from a variety of situations that might arise if the codes did not exist: fire hazards, building collapse, wind and storm damage, etc.<\/p>\n
Zero authorizers would be ideal, one is acceptable, but multiple authorizers lead to many problems.<\/p>\n
Reason 1. \u00a0Increased Bureaucracy: <\/strong>\u201cMultiple authorizers\u201d usually means multiple overseers and multiple funding sources.\u00a0 Therefore, there must be an added layer of bureaucracy with oversight responsibility for sanctioning wayward authorizers:\u00a0 a super body that authorizes authorizers.<\/p>\n Reason 2. Increased Cost:<\/strong> The taxpayer must fund the super body that authorizes and oversees the authorizers.<\/p>\n Reason 3. Decreased Accountability:<\/strong> Some states with a rebate funding model end up with lax authorization and lax oversight because the authorizers just need the cash from the rebates.\u00a0 Are you going to shut down a charter that is feeding you.\u00a0 Suppose a group is certified to issue ten charters and gets a 3% rebate for authorization and oversight costs.\u00a0 With an average charter revenue in the $4 million range annually, 3% is $120,000 each or $1,200,000 per year..\u00a0 Nice to have that coming in!<\/p>\n Reason 4.\u00a0 A Confused Market:<\/strong>\u00a0 Multiple authorizers eventually lead to non-uniformity in purposes and quality standards.\u00a0 The term \u201ccharter school\u201d will mean something different in every locale. Parents will be confused.\u00a0 True, quality will vary even with a single authorizer, but reining in the miscreants will be easier and minimum standards can prevail if the single authorizer is allowed to do its job.<\/p>\n Reason 5.\u00a0 Reduces Independence:\u00a0 <\/strong>In North Carolina, the charter law was passed \u201cto authorize a system of charter schools to provide opportunities\u201d for citizens to form groups \u201cto establish and maintain schools that operate independently of existing schools\u201d[i]<\/a> for one or more of six purposes.\u00a0 In addition to fulfilling one of the purposes, a charter school must \u201cimprove student learning\u201d and \u201coperate the school in an educationally and economically sound manner.\u201d[ii]<\/a>\u00a0 A local school district authorizing charter schools violates the cardinal underlying principle of the statute: independence from existing schools<\/em>.<\/p>\n Reason 6. \u00a0Reduces Competition:\u00a0 <\/strong>How likely is a school district to approve a charter school that will improve education and show them to be less competent?\u00a0 Well, you say, charters have fewer regulations and the district will be able to do things it cannot do in a regular district school.\u00a0 Yeah?\u00a0 Like what?\u00a0 Same teacher pool, same year-end testing, same governmental audits, same compliance regulations for Exceptional Children, fire codes, building codes, health and safety laws, discipline laws, state-wide teacher evaluation rules, etc.\u00a0 About the only real freedom that charters actually have is freedom from district regulations which these very districts whinning about regulation are free to change themselves.<\/p>\n Reason 7.\u00a0 Reduces Parental Choice \u2013 Part 1: \u00a0<\/strong>District charters, university charters, mayors\u2019 charters \u2013 isn\u2019t this more, not less, choice.\u00a0\u00a0 Remember the \u201cPurpose\u201d is to allow citizens, beholden to no one<\/em>, to \u201cestablish and maintain schools that operate independently<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 of governmental bureaucracies, regardless of origin.\u00a0 Get the boots of the bureaucrats off the necks of the charter school board, whether of universities, local boards, city councils, or over-arching large non-profit authorizers.\u00a0 Unless the charter board of citizens is totally insulated from and independent of the vicissitudes and whims of the authorizing university, local district, or town council, parents are just back to the Hobson\u2019s choice of a government-run school.\u00a0 Without total independence, the term \u201ccharter\u201d becomes just lip-stick on the same old government-run pig.<\/p>\n Reason 8: Reduces Parental Choice-Part 2:<\/strong> Currently charter schools are required by law to admit any North Carolina student, regardless of the student\u2019s place of residence.\u00a0 Many charter schools serve children from numerous counties.\u00a0 If local districts authorize charters, either they will have to admit students from other districts creating a conflict for their taxpayers or the law will have to be changed to allow charters to set \u201cattendance zones.\u201d\u00a0 Neither option enhances parental choice.<\/p>\n Reason 9: Reduces Teacher Options:\u00a0 <\/strong>Charter schools may currently design their own compensation and benefit packages.\u00a0 A university authorized or local board authorized charter school\u2019s teachers would more than likely have to follow the college\u2019s or board\u2019s standard compensation plan.\u00a0 Many charters, free of the state and county plans, have been able to devise superior compensation and benefit plans.\u00a0 The university or local board schools will eventually crowd out the truly independent charters, thereby reducing options for the teachers.\u00a0 Back to one-size-fits-all.<\/p>\n Reason 10. Loss of the State\u2019s Educational Sovereignty:<\/strong>\u00a0 Once \u201cmultiple authorizers\u201d get embedded into a state\u2019s charter laws, the bureaucracies involved will inevitably seek strength and justification from so-called national standards groups such NACSA \u2013 National Association of Charter School Authorizers with its current membership of over 800 charter school authorizers nationwide.\u00a0 It promulgates policies and rules for its members and provides standards down to breath-taking level of detail.\u00a0 Remember our<\/em> Purpose \u2013 for citizens \u201cto establish and maintain schools independently of existing schools.\u201d\u00a0 But beholden to existing national standards?<\/p>\n Reason 11,\u00a0 Reduces Statistical Confidence:<\/strong>\u00a0 With one authorizer having one set of standards, the charters can be analyzed as a group, provided adjustments are made for demographics. With multiple authorizers, the group size for an analysis is greatly reduced thereby increasing the margin for error. (Oops. I promised to stop at ten reasons.)<\/p>\n The ideal situation would be for there to be not even one authorizer.\u00a0 Zero authorizers is the perfect number for North Carolina: codify a set of objective, measurable standards much like building codes.\u00a0 Any North Carolina group of citizens that meets these standards can \u201cestablish and maintain\u201d a charter school that is then allowed \u201cto operate independently of existing schools.\u201d\u00a0 There would have to be school inspectors – as there are building inspectors – to ensure that the codes are being adhered, but independence and true parental choice would be assured.<\/p>\n [i]<\/a> http:\/\/www.ncga.state.nc.us\/EnactedLegislation\/Statutes\/HTML\/BySection\/Chapter_115C\/GS_115C-238.29A.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ii]<\/a> http:\/\/www.ncga.state.nc.us\/EnactedLegislation\/Statutes\/HTML\/BySection\/Chapter_115C\/GS_115C-238.29C.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whenever the topic of charter school policy and legislation comes up, someone always manages to bring up the idea of \u201cMultiple Authorizers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-k-12","category-politics-nc","category-politics-us"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bakeramitchelljr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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