WELCOME BACK TO OUR FIRST EDITION OF 2026.
THIS IS A WRAP UP OF ALL THE CHARTER NEWS YOU CAN USE FOR THE FINAL WEEKS OF 2025.
WE’LL RESUME REGULAR WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR 2026 TOMORROW.
Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full.
Apropos
The International Academy of Columbus is on the grow! The K-8 charter school currently serves more than 300 students, focusing on students who speak English as a second language. Very appropriately, their future space is the former home of one of the first Japanese restaurants established in Columbus, which closed in December after nearly 40 years.
Transparency?
On December 3, the Ohio Ethics Commission voted to require charter school governing board members to file full financial disclosure statements beginning in 2026. This move reignited a familiar debate about accountability in public education. Transparency in the use of public dollars is vital, but Fordham’s Vice President for Ohio Policy argues that this new effort singles out charter school board members, despite the fact that most traditional district board members do not face the same requirement. “True accountability,” he concludes, “is not about imposing different rules on different types of public schools. It is about setting clear, consistent expectations—and holding everyone to them.”
Dynamics
Just before the end of 2025, a group of leaders in Indianapolis presented their final proposal to the state legislature to fully operationalize a unified education infrastructure in the capital city. Among the various components are shared funding, a drive to close underenrolled schools, and a single transportation system to serve district, charter, and private school students equally. This coverage of the plan focuses on power dynamics—as in “districts lose power and charters gain power”—but the details provided clearly show an effort to revise K-12 governance and operations to reflect the enrollment dynamics that have been evolving in Indy for many years. Next steps in this groundbreaking process are unclear, but they will likely be taken by the legislature this year.
Questions
There appears to have been some initial concern from at least one national charter school leader that a plan to move parts of the federal Department of Education’s portfolio into the Department of Labor in an effort to dismantle the DOE could stall or reverse the growth of the charter sector. At least that is the message from this piece looking at leaked emails from National Alliance for Public Charter Schools CEO Starlee Coleman. After meeting with the Labor Secretary, Coleman believes that the charter sector “will be fine under this administration.”
Looking ahead
The West Virginia Supreme Court has docketed an appeal to a lower court ruling banning new state-approved charter schools without voter approval and issued a scheduling order establishing deadlines for initial filings in the case. These deadlines extend into June of 2026, so no changes to the existing injunction will likely occur before then.
*****
Did you know you can have every edition of the Ohio Charter News Weekly sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
