NOTE: Chad Aldis addressed the Ohio Board of Education in Columbus this morning. These are his written remarks in full.
Thank you, President Gunlock and state board members, for giving me the opportunity to offer public comment today.
My name is Chad Aldis. I am the vice president for Ohio policy and advocacy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education-oriented nonprofit focused on research, analysis, and policy advocacy with offices in Columbus, Dayton, and Washington, D.C.
One of the major strands of our work involves support for school choice, and that’s why I’d like to talk with you this morning about charter schools. Before I begin, and in the interest of full disclosure, I would like to note that Fordham’s Dayton office currently sponsors eleven charter schools around the state.
We believe that charter schools can make a huge positive impact in the lives of kids, and in many places around the country, they already are. It has become increasingly clear that while Ohio has many outstanding charter schools, the state’s laws must be strengthened if our charter sector is going to match the success being realized elsewhere. This past year, to achieve that goal, we’ve sponsored two major pieces of research, offered public testimony, worked with the media, and educated legislators on the importance of reform.
As I’m sure you know, thanks to the many hard-working reporters and editorial boards around the state, the legislature has a very strong bill (HB 2) that has already passed the Senate unanimously and is ready for consideration by the full House. I’m optimistic that the bill will pass this fall. But, I’m here this morning to tell you that the passage of that legislation alone won’t be enough to improve charter school performance.
All of you, more than most, understand the importance of implementation if legislation is going to have its desired impact. Without strong implementation, a good bill adds up to little more than words on paper. Consider the recent controversy over whether to include student achievement in online charter schools as part of the academic component of the sponsor evaluation system. I’ll state what you already know. The grades, of course, should have been included. Beyond the law, the underlying principle is even more important: Strong accountability demands that, whenever possible, every student in every school should count.
Here’s where my remarks will likely differ from others that you’ll hear today. From everything I’ve seen, the situation that led to Mr. Hansen’s resignation is the exception rather than the rule. Over the past two years, in fact—and for the first time in my memory—ODE has taken its responsibility to charter schools seriously.
I’m not a fan of empty rhetoric. Here’s what I mean when I say that the department has stepped up its charter school oversight:
- In October 2013, State Superintendent Ross ordered the immediate closure of two schools in Columbus for egregious health and safety violations.
- In April 2014, ODE warned three sponsors against opening new schools due to outstanding judgments against directors, problems with their application and review processes, and concerns about school “recycling.”
- Also last year, the department took unprecedented steps to make sure that VLT Academy in Cincinnati closed permanently, without being able to change names and resume business as usual, after being dropped by its sponsor.
- Just three months ago, the department gave notice to four schools (which it had inherited from a failed sponsor) that they’d be closed at the end of the school year for a pattern of poor academic performance, among other reasons.
- Finally, the much-discussed sponsor evaluation system—which Fordham has gone through and found to be rigorous but fair—seems to be making sponsors think carefully when considering whether to open new schools; the number of new charter schools this year was down dramatically from past years.
These are significant actions that the department has taken in the past few years to improve Ohio’s charter school sector. I think it speaks to this administration’s view that charter school performance matters.
Going forward, it’s critical that the department:
- Continues its strong recent enforcement of Ohio’s charter school laws; for too many years that didn’t appear to happen
- Quickly and thoroughly implements any charter school provisions passed in HB 2
- Completes the recently instituted independent review of the sponsor evaluation system and quickly returns to evaluating sponsors (sponsors are the lynchpin of our charter accountability system, and while the academic portion certainly needs review, the measures dealing with compliance and quality practices were developed in conjunction with national experts and appear to be of high quality)
- Ensures that the Office of Quality School Choice is staffed sufficiently to meets it statutory and administrative duties
Thank you again for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am happy to answer any questions that you may have.
