Try as we might, we're still having trouble understanding . . . the trouble. What, exactly, is wrong with Arkansas' Act 1240 and why are folks at the state's Board of Education upset about it? And if not upset, what are they? Curious? Or in boardroom talk, willing to follow-up dialogue on streamlining action steps?
The paper said the other day that dozens of Arkansas school districts have taken advantage of Act 1240 in the last two years--by getting the same kind of waivers to state regs that local charter schools get. For example, if the charter down the street gets to cut through bureaucratic red tape and hire the best teachers for the job, with or without teaching certificates, then the traditional public school in the next neighborhood should get the same waiver. After all, fair is fair.
But now members of the state's Board of Education are, ahem, Voicing Concerns. Apparently, they don't like the speed at which the schools are getting the waivers.
So, are they concerned about . . . efficiency?
If we understand it (and there's a good chance we might not), in order to open its doors, a charter school must:
Submit letters of intent. Participate in planning workshops. Prepare a detailed application. Submit said applications for review to the Education Department. Put notices in area papers. Host community forums. Fight city hall or at least the local school board.
And after years of dotting every i, perhaps, just perhaps, the charter school might open.
And in so doing, the school might, say, hire the local banker with 40 years' experience to teach economics, even though he doesn't have a certified teaching certificate from the state.
At that point, if the local traditional public school wants to do the same, why should it have to (deep breath) submit letters of intent, plan workshops, prepare a detailed application, submit said applications for review, put notices in area papers . . . .
What's good for the goose and all that.
It takes years for a charter to open. And the complaint about Act 1240 is that it grants waivers in only weeks?
We're having trouble understanding the trouble.
But we have a feeling we're not alone.
Editorial on 01/18/2017