News
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/02/state_education_le...
--------------------------------------
After ten years in action, state leaders and charter school advocates are launching a review of Oregon's charter school law.
Created
in the 1999 legislative session, supporters said charters would
increase the diversity of programs within public education while giving
parents and students more alternatives. Still traditional educators
worried they would lose control and money to schools not bound by the
same rules.
Over the past few years, school districts have
been asking more questions about certain aspects of the law, said Lori
Sattenspiel, legislative and public affairs specialist for the Oregon School Boards Association.
They weren't finding answers to those questions and that's what, in
part, prompted the OSBA to initiate a review of the state law.
Bobbie
Regan, a Portland School Board member, is chairing the committee and
said the committee's work is an opportunity to examine a law that has
had a tremendous impact on the state. More than 16,000 kids attend over
100 charter schools.
And there have been some controversial
issues around charter schools recently as many have debated the role of
online learning in charters and the unexpected spurt of school
districts with only one school turning into charter districts.
"Some
things are working well," Regan said. "Others aren't working as well.
This is an opportunity to look at those issues that have come up, to
talk about things that were never envisioned when the law was started."
While the group isn't expected to suggest major changes to the
law, they will likely discuss issues related to student transportation,
governance, funding and special education.
The group met for
the first time in January and begins monthly meetings in March. The
committee – made up of school district leaders, school board members,
charter school parents, leaders and advocates as well as state
legislators – is expected to issue a report and recommendations in
September.
"I think it's always good to get the key
stakeholders around the table so we better understand where others are
coming from," said Kaaren Heikes, executive director of the Northwest Center for Education Options.
"We're not going to be discussing big changes or a major overhaul but I
think there's value for us to get clarification on key areas such as
special education."
Charter schools typically are run by a
group of parents, teachers or community members with their own board of
directors and budget managers --at arm's length to school districts.
They operate free from many state regulations, but must meet the same
state and federal academic performance standards as traditional
schools.
Charter schools are one of the nation's
fastest-growing avenues of education reform. There are nearly 5,000
charter schools around the nation serving about 1.3 million students.
In Oregon, an average of 11 new charter schools open each year.