National PTA Changes Stance On Charter Schools, & It’s A Disappointing One…

The National PTA now supports letting other bodies besides local school boards authorize charter schools. That’s a big disappointment, since charter school operators are now often making “end-runs” around local school boards who won’t approve them by going to county boards of education or other bodies.

For example, here in Sacramento a charter chain couldn’t get any local school district to approve their schools, so they got the county board to do so. So, the county board of education, which is responsible by state law for monitoring and enforcing fiscal accountability in local school districts, is now taking an active role in worsening the financial situations of those same districts by encouraging groups to take monies away from them.

I’m not sure why the PTA would want to support that…..

Here’s the beginning of the Education Week piece on the PTA’s change:

The National Parent Teacher Association has revamped its policy to make it clear that it supports giving entities other than local school boards the right to approve charter schools, a new position the group argues will increase its ability to shape policy within the diverse and growing sector of independent public schools.

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