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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2001

NEWS RELEASE

NEA's New Policy Raises Standards, Accountability for Public Charter Schools

Los Angeles - Embracing higher standards, more accountability and increased local control, the National Education Association today adopted a new charter school policy designed to provide all students attending public charter schools with quality education.

Delegates attending the National Education Association Representative Assembly in Los Angeles voted today to accept the policy, which was written by a special committee made up of NEA officials, educators and charter school experts.

"Charter schools are part of the landscape of public education," said NEA President Bob Chase. "As educators, and members of a professional organization, our aim is to foster education innovation while protecting the rights of all children to a quality education. This policy reflects those important goals so we can make every public school - and public charter school -- great."

While the charter school movement is barely a decade old, there are more than 2,000 charter schools nationwide. Once touted as a high-quality alternative to mainstream public schools, dozens of charter schools across the nation have recently shut their doors due to mismanagement or low test scores.

Because of the closings, some state legislatures are taking a second look at the success of charter schools. A few months ago, the Texas legislature instituted a limit on the number of charter schools allowed to operate in the state. The move came after 10 Texas charter schools closed and 600 displaced charter school students were forced to repeat a grade because of inadequate record keeping. Additionally, test scores for the Texas charter schools were lower than those in public schools.

"At a time when politicians, parents and policymakers are clamoring for more accountability in the classroom, it's beyond comprehension that taxpayer-funded charter schools aren't being held to the same basic standards of other mainstream public schools," Chase said.

In an effort to address these concerns the special committee came up with several criteria for charter schools and charter school laws as guidelines for providing students with quality education while also protecting the public fund investment in charter schools.

Criteria outlined in the policy include:

Charter schools are public schools - and therefore should provide access to all resident students. They should not screen students on the basis of: race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, English-language proficiency, family income, athletic ability, special needs, parental participation in school affairs, intellectual potential, academic achievement or what it costs to educate particular students.

Students should not be denied access to a charter school because the school is unwilling to arrange for transportation.

Charter schools should not disproportionately divert resources from mainstream public schools.

Local school boards, not state entities, should be involved in the granting of charters and the process should be open to the public.

Private, for-profit entities should not be eligible to receive charters - though charter schools should be free to contract with for-profit companies for management and other services.

Charters should not be used to provide home-schooling, including online charter schools that seek to provide home-schooling over the Internet.

Mainstream public schools should be eligible to convert to charter schools, but private school conversions should be prohibited. Charter schools are public schools.

Charters granted should be of limited duration, and charter schools should be evaluated periodically to have their charter renewed.

The determination of collective bargaining rights - and the rights of employees to "waive" their rights to work at a charter school - should be made on a case-by-case basis by the chartering agency, in consultation with the union that represents the employees in the school district.

NEA's new charter school policy will be used by educators, policy makers and parents as a guideline for evaluating state charter school laws. The policy will also be used by the NEA's government relations staff in lobbying for changes in federal charter school policies to promote higher standards, greater accountability and increased local control, and ensure all students attending public charter schools receive a quality education.

The Representative Assembly is the world's largest democratic deliberative body and is the elected policy-making group for the 2.6 million-member Association.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.