Charter schools and a new funding formula
Ohio’s new “Fair School Funding Plan” calls for direct funding for charter schools and vouchers. Direct funding would end Ohio’s controversial “pass-through” method of funding charters, but how the process is implemented matters a great deal. As Fordham’s Aaron Churchill explains, “a move to direct funding must be done in a manner that wouldn’t expose charter or voucher programs to a line item veto by an unfriendly governor someday. If care isn’t taken to do that, the move to direct funding should be rejected out-of-hand by legislators.”
Charter schools outperform districts in new study
The University of Arkansas released a report on Tuesday titled, “A Good Investment: The Updated Productivity of Public Charter Schools in Eight U.S. Cities.” The researchers measured the return on investment (ROI) and cost-effectiveness of charter schools compared to traditional public schools in eight cities. The study finds that charter schools outperform their district counterparts on both measures in all eight cities, indicating to the Washington Examiner that “they’re less costly, but better at educating students.”
New report on charter school integration
The Century Foundation released a report yesterday analyzing charter school policies and enrollment trends in states across the U.S. to learn how well states support integration in charters. The report includes state profiles with key findings and recommendations. You can see how Ohio stacks up against other states with their interactive map. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has taken issue with the report.
Legislative update
The House Education committee heard proponent testimony on bills related to suicide awareness and prevention; immunization requirements; religious expression; and academic distress commissions. Testimony from the hearing can be found here. The Senate Education committee heard sponsor proponent testimony on bills related to free speech on college campuses, career and technical education and academic distress commissions. You can find the Senate testimony here. Lastly, the Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education had several days of testimony from agency leaders and members of the Ohio “Fair School Funding Plan” workgroup. You can also find video coverage of this committee here.
Upcoming events
There are some dates in the next few weeks to look forward to. The School Performance Institute is hosting its upcoming workshop on April 12, National Teacher Appreciation Week will take place from May 6-10, and National Charter Schools Week will be from May 12-18.
