Dive Brief:
- Ohio is poised to receive a $70 million influx of federal funding for its rapidly growing charter sector even as state and federal leaders are reexamining the oversight and monitoring required of charter schools.
- The state's legislature passed a bill that would increase monitoring, following a series of accountability failures, including fudging of results on the part of the state’s top charter official this summer.
- But some state leaders and charter advocates who’ve campaigned for stronger controls say the federal grant gives the appearance of rewarding bad behavior.
Dive Insight:
Across the country, states are refining their approach to charter schools, with experts pointing to an increasing focus on quality and oversight. “Each year we’ve seen state environments become more favorable to the growth of high-quality schools,” Todd Zeibarth, senior vice president for state advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, told District Administration. “It’s important the laws are not just allowing as many charters as possible—we’re seeing both expansion and accountability strengthen.”
In Ohio, as elsewhere, the charter sector has divided, with some charter leaders defending current practices and others joining critics in supporting the increased accountability. Several Ohio Republicans, traditional supporters of the charter movement, and other right-leaning advocates have called for smart regulation that favors high-performing schools.
"In other states, you see high performing charter schools expanding, and low performers closing. In Ohio, the low performers are just about as likely to replicate and expand as the high performers,” Chad Aldis, who does Ohio-related policy and advocacy work for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, told Education Week.