Still Asleep at the Wheel continues our investigation of the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program (CSP) that began with our March 2019 report, which you can find here. The Charter Schools Program has spent more than $4.1 billion dollars to fund new charter schools and to expand existing charter schools. In this report (which we revised in January of 2020), we document over a half-billion dollars that was wasted on defunct charter schools that had an active CSP grant from SY 2006-07 – SY 2013-14. Prior to 2006, the U.S. Department of Education did not require the states to report the names and status of the schools to which they gave CSP funds.
According to our analysis, 37% of the charter schools that were funded by CSP during those years either never opened (11%) or opened and then closed (26%). That figure is the result of our investigation of the status of nearly 5000 charter schools that received funds from CSP.
Schools that never opened, those on lists of closed schools, those that converted to district public schools, schools that lost their charter and were taken over by other operators or by the district and schools that abandoned their charter to merge with an-other charter were considered closed.
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By-the-Numbers
NPE investigated the Charter Schools Program (CSP) awards from grants that were active from 2006-2014. Below we provide a running total of how many CSP grants were awarded, what percentage of the charters that received them are now closed, and the amount of taxpayer dollars wasted.
STATES
43
GRANTS
4,829
CLOSED
1,777
PERCENT
37
WASTE
$502,468,123
Percent of CSP non-functioning grant recipient schools by state
Key: Blue 0-9%, Green 10-19%, Yellow 20-29%, Orange 30-39%, Red 40% and above. States that do not have a charter law or have never received a grant are light tan.
Media Mentions of Still Asleep at the Wheel
The Washington Post
Report: Federal government wasted millions of dollars on charter schools that never opened
More than 35 percent of charter schools funded by the federal Charter School Program (CSP) between 2006 and 2014 either never opened or were shut down, costing taxpayers more than half a billion dollars, according to a new report from an advocacy group that reviewed records of nearly 5,000 schools.
A version of this article also appeared in the Star Tribune, The Columbian, and the Sentinel Source.
The Washington Post
The surprising source of key data in a report critical of U.S. Charter School Program
These critics argue that “Still Asleep at the Wheel” exaggerates the waste and flaws in the program. Our response is, “If you don’t believe our numbers when it comes to the failures of the program, use the numbers given to Congress by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos instead.”
The Florida Times Union
Too trusting, too wasteful
Anyone who believes in public education or in responsibly spending tax dollars cannot in good conscience continue this wasteful program.
Let’s hope that $1 billion of misspent tax money would attract some attention in Congress.
The Hill
Failed charter schools cost federal government almost $505M in nine years: report
Charter schools that never opened or that have opened then closed between 2006 and 2014 have cost the federal government almost $505 million, according to a recent report.
Forbes
New Report: Charter Fraud And Waste Worse Than We Thought
Last March, the Network for Public Education released a report showing that the federal government has lost a billion dollars to charter school waste and fraud. But the organization had not stopped sifting through the data.
Michigan Advance
The feds granted millions for Michigan charter schools that never opened. Where did the money go?
A new study from the Network for Public Education shows that 72 Michigan charter schools were granted money through the federal Charter School Program (CSP), but never enrolled a single student. Despite never opening their doors, these schools received $7.7 million from 2006 to 2014.
Salon
Why the federal government’s billion-dollar charter school program is a complete disaster
The report “Still Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Results in a Pileup of Fraud and Waste” by the Network for Public Education (NPE) calculates approximately $1.17 billion in federal funding has been spent on charters that either never opened or that opened and have since shut down.
A version of this article can also appeared on Alternet and Citizen Truth.
Michigan Radio/NPR
Michigan charter schools got millions in taxpayer money for schools that never opened
A federal program awarded $7.7 million to charters schools in Michigan that never opened. That’s according to a report from the Network for Public Education.
A total of 257 charter schools in Michigan received money from the federal program. 72 of them never opened. No other state had that many unopened charter schools that received money from the Charter Schools Program.
WORT Community Radio
Failed Charter Schools Cost Taxpayers Over $500 Million
Charter schools have been an expensive experiment in education, costing over $500 million for schools that never opened or have gone defunct, according to Carol Burris from the Network for Public Education. That group has recently issued a new report, and she talks with Jan about the fraud and waste in that program.
The Progressive
Michigan charter schools got millions in taxpayer money for schools that never opened
The report, “Still Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Results in a Pileup of Fraud and Waste,” examines the results of taxpayer-funded grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program from 2006 to 2014. It found 1,779 grantee schools that either never opened or have since shut down—a failure rate of 37 percent. zxz
Arkansas Times
Report details federal money wasted on defunct charter schools, including in Arkansas
The Washington Post provides a summary of a new report detailing some half-billion dollars in federal money wasted on charter schools that never opened or were shut down, including in Arkansas.
Wisconsin Examiner
Report: millions wasted on Wisconsin charter schools that closed or never opened
A new report by the Network for Public Education, a group founded by public-education advocate and former U.S. Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, provides extensive, state-by-state data on waste in the federal charter schools program.
A version of this article also appeared in Urban Milwaukee.
Concord Monitor
Our Turn: The math behind the fiscal committee’s tabling of charter school grant
According to a recently published report from the Network for Public Education, between 2006 and 2014, more than 35% of charter schools – 537 schools – funded by the federal charter school program never opened or were shut down. These “ghost schools” cost taxpayers more than half a billion dollars.
A version of this opinion piece can also be found at Seacoast Online and fosters.com.
The Morning Call
Find out which Lehigh Valley schools are included in the ‘ghost’ charter report
A report on the number of “ghost” charter schools that either never opened or were shut down included 50 schools in Pennsylvania, including two in the Lehigh Valley region.
The report, titled “Still Asleep at the Wheel,” said that more than 35% or charter schools funded by the federal Charter School Program between 2006 and 2014, were so-called “ghost” schools, costing taxpayers more than half a billion dollars.
