Dive Brief:
- Michigan Superintendent of Instruction Mike Flanagan has decided to hold off on making any decisions about the 11-charter school authorizers placed on an "at-risk of suspension" list during the summer.
- Deficiencies like low academic performance and contract transparency issues landed 11 of Michigan's 40 charter school authorizers on the list in August. At the time, they were given until October to shape up, with a final decision about each authorizer to come in November.
- Flanagan said that Gov. Rick Snyder will be announcing traditional public school and charter school reforms in January and that he would like to hear Snyder's plans before making any decisions about the 11 authorizers.
Dive Insight:
News of the "at-risk" list this summer came soon after an eight-day series on charter schools published by the Detroit Free Press. In short, the year-long investigation found that while the state of Michigan has given over $1 billion to charter schools, permissive laws and low accountability have led to sub-par schools staying open. After the Free Press articles were published, Flanagan kicked it into high gear, pledging to hold the charters accountable. For some, this felt a little too late. What was he doing before the articles came out? How did he not know this was an issue then?
Now that he is not following through on his word, or sticking to his time frame, many are skeptical that any true reforms will happen. The "at-risk of suspension" list is only effective if officials stick to the timeline set in place. Deciding at the end of December not to take action feels like a free pass for anyone still not in compliance.
There is, however, another layer to the charter question, as education management companies — which, in Michigan, are 79% for-profit — are also an area the state should be focusing on.