One more update on the Indiana budget
The Indiana legislature approved the state budget bill earlier this week, sending it to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk for signature. The Indiana Capital Chronicle has a nice summary of all the various charter-related provisions that made the final cut. Highlights include an increase in per-student state funding, $25 million in new grant funding for charter facilities, and local revenue sharing requirements for charters in four of the largest counties.
Charter school omnibus bill in North Carolina
Meanwhile, legislators in North Carolina are considering a wide-ranging omnibus bill that contains numerous provisions to revamp charter law in the state. While a plan to allow charters access to local funding did not survive, other huge changes stayed in. These include limitations on state and local education boards’ input on charter location and expansion decisions, increasing charter access for out-of-state and foreign-exchange students, and prohibiting district schools from using previous charter enrollment as a negative factor when students apply for admission to their lottery programs. Additionally, detailed changes are proposed for athletic participation, reflecting the growth of school choice in the Tar Heel State and looking to better balance district, charter, and private school divisional assignments based on all the options available to student-athletes. House Bill 219 passed out of the House Education Committee this week.
New Ohio research
In 2015, Ohio lawmakers enacted landmark charter reforms with the passage of House Bill 2, toughening accountability measures for schools and demanding more responsible practices from their sponsors. What progress has the charter sector made since then? The Fordham Institute’s latest report digs into the data from 2015 to 2023 and documents improvements in the sector over this period as well as discusses the work still to be done. You can read or download the full report here.
Spotlight on rural charters
A recent report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools shines a light on our country’s rural charter schools. They are not prevalent everywhere, but in a number of states, they represent a significant—and growing—percentage of charters. While rural schools often allow for innovative education models and services targeted to specific communities, they also can face bigger versions of the roadblocks most charters do, such as funding gaps, transportation difficulties, and staffing concerns. You can check out the report and its important findings here.
The view from the New York Capital Region
Students from KIPP Troy Prep Middle School in upstate New York got a firsthand look at a great STEM education pathway available to them in their own little town last week. Applied physics professor Humberto Terrones led a science immersion day for the youngsters at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute just up the hill from their school. They worked to assemble a buckyball from scratch, learning about the importance of its development, and about its scientific applications from an expert. “Sometimes, it takes a very small thing to inspire someone to become a scientist,” said Terrones, whose life experience epitomizes that belief. “You never know what will spark a child’s imagination!”
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