State Senate Passes Charter School Bill

After a stall in Legislature, Bill 1162 passed the State Senate Friday, 40-16.In addition to strong Republican support, the bill won a pocket of votes from Democrats. Democratic Senator from Marietta Steve Thompson said,

“I’m always going to vote for public education, and that’s what this is.”

The bill, however, does not amend the state constitution to allow charter schools, but simply places the item on the November ballot, when Georgians will decide for themselves whether to amend the constitution to allow the state the authority to approve and fund charter schools or not.

If Georgians vote to amend the constitution in November to allow the state the authority to approve and fund charter schools, despite potentially opposing decisions by local school boards, the move will reverse a decision made last May by the Georgia Supreme Court. The court’s decision asserted the authority of local school boards and, conceivably the taxpayers they represent, to either approve or deny charters in county systems. If voters choose to amend the constitution in November in this regard, the authority of local school boards and communities will be then transferred to the state.

In one sense, the legislation is a double-edged sword. On one hand, taxpayers are generally displeased with the direction or there-lack-of of public school systems. As such, charter schools offer an alternative. Although still part of the public school system, parents theoretically have a greater say in the direction of the school, where with the current public school systems, the direction of schools (the children’s education) are at the mercy of school boards and state and federal mandates. Charter schools, though, require a mandatory parental participation. Also, rather than guided by a bureaucratic school board, charter schools are managed by a board of trustees, structured by staggered term-limits for members.

On the other hand, the decision would further empower the state government, giving it the authority to approve, deny, fund or not fund, charter schools. The choice seems to be between the power of bureaucratic school boards and the power of the state. The question is, though, if the state grants and funds a charter in a particular district, will strings be attached? Will the state operate the charter or will it be a hands-off relationship (an absentee landlord), where the state allows the charter to operate through its board of trustees and parental involvement?

Passed in the House and awaiting Senate approval, Bill 797 is the counterpart to 1162, which defines how the amendment would be implemented, if approved.

Responding to the passage of 1162, Governor Nathan Deal encouraged Georgians to vote for the amendment in November.

“The General Assembly has acted wisely and courageously to give Georgians the choice to implement true local control: parental choice,”

Deal said, adding

“We must encourage innovation and the pursuit of excellence in our schools. Starting a state-chartered school is not done easily or without lots of hard work, but we need a system that allows for this option. State-chartered schools help students trapped in underperforming schools and aid communities that want to invest in new and imaginative ways of learning for their children. Approving this amendment will simply restore the process for creating state-charted schools that existed before the state Supreme Court struck down the state’s system for granting charters, and I hope Georgians will cast their vote for protecting and promoting schools that have a strong record of student achievement.”