The process of reforming charter school law in Ohio took another big step forward last week with the introduction of S.B. 148 in the Ohio Senate. Jointly sponsored by Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) and Senator Tom Sawyer (D-Akron), the bill is the result of workgroup sessions over the last nine months to craft the best legislation possible to improve charter school oversight and accountability.
The new Senate bill follows on the heels of House Bill 2, a strong charter school reform measure passed by the House last month. The Senate proposal maintains many of the critical provisions that the House bill included and adds some additional measures. Specifically, the Senate bill:
- Strengthens House language around sponsor hopping
- Increases transparency around expenditures by operators
- Requires all sponsors to have a contract with the Ohio Department of Education
- Incorporates much of Governor Kasich’s proposal related to charter school sponsor oversight
- Prohibits sponsors from spending charter funds outside of their statutory responsibilities
- Assists high-performing charter schools with facilities by encouraging co-location and providing some facility funding
We published a full roundup of press coverage of the rollout in a special edition of Gadfly Bites on April 16. Important highlights can be found in the Columbus Dispatch, the Plain Dealer, and the Akron Beacon Journal.
While the coverage has been almost uniformly positive, we urge you to read the op-ed published in the Beacon Journal on Friday, April 17. We have appropriated its title for the title of this Ohio Gadfly Extra: “The oversight of charter schools Ohio desperately needs.” In it, ABJ editors declare, “The charter concept is here to stay, made plain by the success stories, even in Ohio.” And they opine that S.B. 148 is “a foundation for much improvement”.
Anyone who doubted until now that these reform efforts are the real deal has hopefully had their doubts laid to rest.
