#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Many Houston charter schools are violating state transparency laws. Here’s why it’s an issue
Many Houston-area charter schools are violating state transparency laws designed to make school governance and financial decisions open to the public, a pattern that has drawn minimal scrutiny from state officials. Nearly 85 percent of the 39 charter school networks based in Harris County did not have all their up-to-date transparency records posted online as required by state law, the Houston Landing found this month after reviewing their sites.
Evidence, testimony by CFO expected at weeklong preliminary hearing for Epic founders
“largest abuse of taxpayer funds in the history of this state”
The ‘dark money’ behind the lobbyists opposing a Colorado charter school accountability bill
Pro-charter school organizations don’t agree with this legislative effort to increase accountability as they believe this bill would “kill” charter schools. Republicans have been especially vocal in their opposition to this bill, even though the bill promotes increased local control over charter schools. The pro-charter organizations hired over 30 lobbyists to oppose the bill. Lobbying can be expensive, but the organizations opposing the bill have connections to several billionaire-funded foundations.
It’s definitely painful’: One of Colorado’s oldest charter schools is closing
GLOBE Charter School, one of Colorado’s oldest charter schools, will close its doors upon the conclusion of the 2023-24 schoolyear. The school’s board president Doug Hering sent out a letter to parents and guardians March 20 informing them that the board had voted to close the school. “The news has been, I don’t want to use the word ‘devastating,’ … but it’s definitely painful,” Hering said.
Opinion: Accountability for charter schools is just good government
In her March 17 guest commentary, Stephanie Hancock claims that House Bill 1363 is a “brazen” and “mean-spirited” effort to harm charter schools. As a former lawmaker and public school teacher, I would argue the bill is a common-sense effort to place the same accountability and transparency requirements on charter schools that are demanded of traditional public schools.
Is science for everyone? Not at this Denver charter school
Sixth grade science teacher Savannah Perkins described a surprise meeting with her school principal in early January. He told her that she would no longer be teaching science because too many students were reading below grade level, she said. Her job would “pivot” to reading intervention for second semester.
Tougher oversight, more transparency: Report recommends sweeping changes to California charter school laws to prevent future abuses
The report, which was developed by the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the state’s education fiscal auditing agency, represents perhaps the largest set of recommendations for changes to charter school laws and regulations since the A3 charter fraud scandal five years ago. In that fraud case — the largest in California’s recent history — charter operators manipulated student attendance records and funding to bilk the state of $400 million in public school dollars.
Arizona school may close after board moves to revoke charter
The State Board for Charter Schools voted unanimously Monday to issue a notice of intent to revoke the charter contract of ARCHES Academy, which enrolls just under 50 students in Apache Junction, citing financial mismanagement and poor record-keeping practices. ARCHES did not meet six of nine operational performance measures.
Parents Accuse Diddy’s Charter School of Being Violent and Dysfunctional Place for Kids
Now adding to the mounting controversy around the Bad Boy Records founder, a new report from The Cut reveals many issues with Capital Prep, including the accusation that Diddy had no involvement with the school beyond photo ops, guest appearances, and the school’s grand opening in 2016. Fourteen sources told The Cut about alleged frequent violence at Capital Prep, along with “unstable” leadership, and frequent teacher resignation.
I Will Work Every Day To Defeat It’: Andy Beshear Comes Out Swinging Against Charter School Bill
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) held a press briefing on Thursday where he spoke about HB2 a constitutional amendment on charter schools.
Boone County superintendents oppose charter schools as bill heads to House
Baumstark said charter schools are not held to the same accountability, performance or financial standards as public school districts but both would be funded with taxpayer dollars. She said nearly half of charter schools in Missouri have closed because of poor academic performance or financial issues.
Pullman’s Troubled Charter School Might Become The First In Washington To Be Closed By State Regulators
According to a recent article in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News about 30 Montessori families have asked for new leadership at the school which operates in The Gladish. Their concerns involve several issues including communications and transparency. The PCM Board held a town hall in January when the families asked that the Head of School Laylah Bewick be removed. Other issues reported by the Daily News include high staff turnover, student bullying, exposed pipes in classrooms and limited bathroom availability.
State Charter Schools Review Board declines to renew charter for Gaston County school
The school opened in 2019, but only has two full years of academic data due to pandemic-related disruptions. It failed to meet academic growth in each of the two years. Ridgeview was an ‘F’ school under the state’s school accountability model and has not posted academic outcomes comparable to the local school district. Ridgeview trailed the local school district’s academic performance by 36.4-percentage points at the conclusion the 2021-2022 academic year and 35.2-percentage points after the 2022-2023 school year.
State Legislatures Are Waging War on Public Schools
A new report ranks US states in terms of how well their legislatures are protecting public schools and the students who attend them. From expanding charters to launching illiberal attacks on kids and families, a worrying number of states failed the test.
Texas places state’s largest charter school network under conservatorship
Texas’ largest charter school network has been placed under conservatorship by the Texas Education Agency after a years-long investigation into improper spending within the system of 143 schools. The arrangement, announced Wednesday, is part of a settlement agreement between IDEA Public Schools and the TEA. IDEA had been under investigation since 2021 following numerous allegations of financial and operational misconduct.