Coalition Time!

Why are we here?

A coalition is a group of individuals and/or organizations with a common interest (public education) who agree to work together toward a common goal (quality charter school legislation).

Invite

Kick off Meeting Minutes

Committee Meetings Minutes

Draft of Position Statement – To be approved

Helpful Links:

Marketing and Events Links:

Suggested Reading:

Platform Statements from Potential Allies and Members:

  • KDE
  • JCPS
  • If the General Assembly acts to implement charter schools in Kentucky, JCPS believes that the legislation should include, but not be limited to, the following:
    • Establish local school districts as the charter authorizers;
    • Permit only independent, non-profit entities to manage charter schools;
    • Create a pilot program, limiting the initial number of charters school that can be authorized;
    • Require compliance with Kentucky Open Meetings and Open Records laws;
    • Include protections against financial mismanagement, fraud, and abuse;
    • Require charter school board members to complete the training required of district school board members;
    • Require charter school curricula created using public funds to be publicly available, not proprietary;
    • Require the student demographics (e.g. race, income, educational attainment) be reflective of the district within which the charter school resides;
    • Prorate funding for charter schools when a student leaves prior to the end of a school year; and
    • Incorporate national research- and evidence-based best practices developed through the experiences of states with charter schools.
  • KEAT – Position coming
    Members
  • KSB – No position
  • Prichard Committee – No position

  • JCTA shares the Annenberg Standards (Summary below)
    • Traditional school districts and charter schools should collaborate to ensure a coordinated approach that serves all children
    • School governance should be representative and transparent
    • Charter schools should ensure equal access to interested students and prohibit practices that discourage enrollment or disproportionately push-out enrolled students
    • Charter school discipline policy should be fair and transparent
    • All students deserve equitable and adequate school facilities. Districts and charter schools should collaborate to ensure facility arrangements do not disadvantage students in either sector
    • Online charter schools should be better regulated for quality, transparency and the protection of student data
    • Monitoring and oversight of charter schools are critical to protect the public interest; they should be strong and fully state funded
  • FOR –  Fellowship of Reconciliation – FOR does not have a position on charters, but I can support the principles.  I would add that only the school or a nonprofit could own or lease the school property
  • 15th District PTA follows the National PTA platform
    • National PTA supports legislation or policy decisions relating to charter schools that meet the following conditions:

      Charter Authorizing Bodies must:

      • Meet the highest level of accountability;
      • Ensure transparent charter application, review, and decision-making processes;
      • Meaningfully engage parents (any adult who has primary responsibility for the education and welfare of a child) in transparent authorizing, review, and decision-making processes, including the involvement of at least one parent on each charter school board;
      • Engage in ongoing, comprehensive charter school data collection and evaluation processes, and make that information available to the public in a manner that complies with applicable state and federal laws; and
      • Require performance-based charter contracts.

      Public Charter Schools must:

      • Be open to all students and free of both tuition charges and fees that exceed state or federal laws;
      • Be supported by specifically allocated public funds in amounts that do not exceed and do not divert funding from non-charter public schools;
      • Be legally organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization not affiliated with non-public sectarian, religious, or home-based school organizations;
      • Adhere to all federal and state laws that protect the health and safety of children, prohibit discrimination, ensure access for all children, and comply with the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings Act;
      • Comply with federal and state laws governing public schools that require fiscal transparency, responsibility and accountability;
      • Provide all education stakeholders, including parents, with absolute transparency concerning both non-public funding sources and any external organization(s) with which the charter school enters into fee-for-service contract(s);
      • Ensure that professional staff is certified for the position(s) they hold;
      • Work collaboratively with parents to ensure meaningful family engagement in student learning and school success, including the presence of at least one parent on the charter school board; and
      • Adhere to mechanism(s) for periodic, independent data collection and evaluation to determine alignment with provisions of the stated charter and ability to meet or exceed expectations required of non-charter public schools.
    • Dear JCPS
    • Cumulative Collection (Based on JCPS initial statement)
    • LWV
    • SEIU
    • AU – I think newspaper reporters especially avoid the separation aspect. Religion is a touchy subject but I think it can’t be ignored in this. Without that aspect, we lose sight of how charter schools are out of step with . . democracy, history, religious freedom, etc. Just my opinion.
    • Other invited orgs

 

Upcoming Events

  • Jan 5 – Education Inc. Screening – Co hosts? More dates/locations?
  • Jan 10 – JCPS Board Meeting
  • Jan 24 – JCPS Board Meeting
  • Cafe Louie Meet Your Legislators (Starts Jan 21)No automatic alt text available.
  • Jan 27 – School Choice Rally 10 am
  • Jan 28 – Screening at Main Library (tentative) – need chairperson
  • Metro Dem Club Panel – need chairperson

Legislative Session Begins Jan 3/Returns Feb 7.

Prefiled Bills