#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Our Views: Louisiana charter schools must serve everyone, including low-income students
Louisiana has moved strongly in the direction of charter schools, but too often, these public schools aren’t sufficiently serving students of all income levels.
Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack issued a report last week showing that 18.5% of authorized charter schools are not enrolling enough children from economically disadvantaged homes. Waguespack looked at 108 charter schools serving almost 66,000 students and found that more than 1 in 5 schools failed to meet admission rules aimed at ensuring full access at least once during the past six years.
Student at Massachusetts charter school receives uniform violation for hijab
A Massachusetts charter school where an eighth grade student was written up for a uniform infraction for wearing a hijab says it understands its “handling of the situation came across as insensitive.”
A family member of the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School student posted on social media a picture of the “School Uniform Compliance Form” the student received from a teacher for the hijab on Thursday. In the description of the infraction, the headscarf worn by Muslim women was misspelled as “jihab.”
School District has ‘serious concerns’ about two Philly charters
With days to go before students return, two Philadelphia charters have double-digit teacher vacancies and no apparent management structure — and School District officials have taken the unprecedented step of inviting families whose children attend the schools to enroll elsewhere.
Texas Charter School Execs Approved $15 Million to Lease Private Jet While Under Investigation
New details published by the Houston Chronicle’s Edward McKinley show board members of Texas’ largest private charter school system voted to spend millions of dollars on leasing a private jet for business travel despite an ongoing state investigation into the organization for alleged misuse of public funds.
Proposal to change HISD’s policy on charters sparks opposition
Parents, education advocates and a group of Houston elected officials including three Houston ISD trustees on Monday blasted a proposal by other school board members that would change the district’s policy surrounding charters, calling the measure dangerous to public schools and imploring it be taken off an agenda days before its first reading.
Poor Quality Charter School Applications Are Common
One of the main reasons many charter school applications are rejected repeatedly by public school boards across the country is because they are poorly-written and low quality in many ways.
Such applications are often full of spelling mistakes, overly-ambitious claims, vague details, incomplete responses, many blank boxes, incorrect information, and more.
Chavez Huerta community members call for resignations of new CEO, board president
Several Chavez Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy staff and community members called for the resignation of newly hired President/CEO Hal Stevens and Board President Stephen Varela on Tuesday following a series of staffing reductions and the creation of what some school employees called a hostile work environment.
Classical education charter schools on the rise in Florida with help from small, conservative Michigan college
“Yes, the classical academies are flourishing in the state of Florida, we hope to have many more,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during his appearance at a leadership conference in Naples earlier this year.
The conference was hosted by Hillsdale College, a small conservative Christian college in Michigan working to expand a classical education curriculum it describes as “instruction in western tradition” with a “firm grounding in civic virtue.”
Orange County mom says her autistic son was abused at local charter school
Stephanie Cooper says she started to notice the bruises on her then 13-year-old son’s body starting in April 2021.
But when she called Access Charter School, she was told her son had caused his own injuries.
It wasn’t until this year that her son admitted that a teacher and a behavioral therapist were allegedly abusing and physically restraining him.
NOLA Public Schools accuses KIPP of violating discipline policies, special education laws
The NOLA Public Schools district has accused KIPP New Orleans Schools, the city’s largest charter school operator, of suspending or expelling multiple students at three of its schools without due process or proper parental notification, allegedly violating state law and Louisiana Department of Education policy.
Charter schools claim they are ‘separate’ from Hillsdale, but evidence tells different story
The people trying to get taxpayer funding for those privately-operated schools endorsed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee are now trying to convince the public they’re separate from Hillsdale College.
That’s the conservative Michigan college at the center of controversy over its president’s view of public school teachers.
Minnesota AG issues new demands in its investigation of Hmong College Prep investment scandal
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office recently escalated its investigation of Hmong College Preparatory Academy with a new demand for records after the St. Paul charter school lost more than $4 million in a risky hedge fund investment in 2019.
Leland charter school will appeal dress code lawsuit to US Supreme Court
Roger Bacon Academy announced in its summer newsletter to parents that it will appeal a decision that its dress code violates Title IX to the Supreme Court after its board of trustees voted unanimously to do so.
Sexual misconduct investigation forces out lauded charter school leader Tim King, sources say
A Chicago Public Schools inspector general’s report substantiating allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with a student forced Tim King, the lauded head of a prominent charter school network, to resign last week, sources told WBEZ.
Osceola County charter academy shut down days before start of school
In April, the Osceola County school board voted to terminate its contract with the American Classical Charter Academy for various reasons, including their financial conditions.