Charter schools garner attention in 2009 legislative session

By Jonathon K. Ciani

Four education-related bills that impact charter schools are making their way through the Indiana General Assembly. Here’s a rundown of the bills and status as of the printing of this magazine:

Senate Bill 0126
A bill up for passage in the State Senate would make it mandatory for all schools—public, private, and charter—to offer financial responsibility courses to their students. These courses are designed to be grade appropriate, and to be offered throughout a student’s school experience, from grade school through high school.

Sen. Brent Waltz (R-Greenwood) sees the need for this bill when he looks at the current state of education in Indiana. Most students, he said, only receive one or two economics-related classes in their junior or senior year of high school. The question arises: What about kids who do not make it that far in high school?

Waltz offers this bill as an answer. According to the Senator, financial responsibility courses will teach students skills appropriate with their age level. Third graders, for example, will practice the simple math of balancing a check book; middle school students will work with credit card problems and issues of debt; and, those in high school will focus on taxes and mortgages. The idea behind the bill is to prepare Indiana students at all ages, and to arm them with basic skills needed to make it in the real world of finances.

Senate Bill 0224
The content of Senate Bill 0224 speaks to the growing presence of technology in education. Sponsored by Sen. Teresa Lubbers (R-Indianapolis), the bill spells out virtual education requirements in high schools across the state. Specifically, it requires every student to complete at least one course through virtual learning before graduation.

Some charter schools rely on virtual education to some degree. Placing an emphasis on this type of learning not only helps students acquire basic technology skills, but helps everyone to consider the wide applicability of technology and to see how it can be connected to any field of study. According to the Indiana Department of Education’s website, practice with technology helps students become “communicators in a global village.” As charter educators work toward the goal of equipping students to participate in the world, experience with technology seems to be a logical part of the process.

Given these positive points, and the 34 to 15 majority with which it passed the Senate, the bill seems to have few objectors.

A survey conducted by Indiana University’s Center for Evaluation and Education Policy last year, however, adds a small voice of dissent. In the survey, 74 percent of respondents claim to be against virtual charter schools, while only 24 percent support them. But another question asked by the survey sheds a slightly different light on public opinion: Would you favor online classes as a supplement to general education? In this instance, 66 percent of respondents expressed support, while only 32 percent voiced opposition.

Senate Bill 0227
The House committee on Education has been discussing this important bill which proposes to increase funding to Indiana charter schools. Specifically, the wording of this bill provides charter schools in the Indianapolis area with access to the Indianapolis Bond Bank. Currently, only charter schools expressly established by the mayor’s office have access to these funds. Also, charter schools would be in position to buy vacant and unused school buildings from corporations that no longer need them. This new access to funding would put charter schools on a more level playing field as traditional public schools, and for the first time enable charters to receive funding for technology, preschool education, and capital projects.

The last possibility, that of capital building projects, proves to be the most exciting piece of this loaded bill. One of the main challenges presented to charter schools is the funding of capital projects.

According to the CEEP study, most charter schools and their organizers possess severely limited financial viability due to the amount of debt they must carry. Since providing the basic resources of education becomes a struggle for some charters, capital development gets shoved into the corner. Like all schools, charters at times feel the need to expand and improve their buildings and other capital resources. Without the passage of this bill, charters will receive funding for their most basic needs only and be unable to fund new building projects with government money. The possibilities for expansion offered by this bill would allow charters across the state to build special education centers and technologically enhanced classrooms, both of which would work toward the ultimate goal of helping students achieve their maximum potential. This new funding source would also enable charters to implement the program described by the technology bill currently being debated in the Statehouse.

With more access to funding, charters could tap into the same resource pool from which traditional public schools draw, while still maintaining their unique mission and focus.

Given the plethora of benefits offered by the passage of Senate Bill 0227, charter supporters are urged to email their state senators and representatives to express their wishes. Given the bill’s sizeable 41-9 victory in the Senate, its passage in the House seems likely.

House Bill 1723
Out of all the charter school related bills currently up for debate at the Statehouse, none has drawn as much attention as this bill introduced by Rep. Vernon Smith (D-Gary). The basic wording of the bill restricts authorizers from granting new charters in cities with a population of 90,000 to 105,000.

Essentially, the bill proposes to place a moratorium on the creation of new charter schools, and also to limit the growth of existing institutions in applicable geographic areas. According to the bill, charters would not be allowed to add new grade levels and their funding would become static, freezing all possibility of expansion.

Commentators on this debate have pointed out that the key issue at stake is the effectiveness of charter schools. Smith’s position is that charter students do not perform better than their traditional public school counterparts in terms of grades or ISTEP results. In making these claims, Smith draws heavily upon the findings of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy’s recent “Study of Effectiveness and Efficiency of Charter Schools in Indiana.” The study found that charter students do not out-perform traditional public school students, stating in an executive summary that “There is no practical difference between students in charter schools and traditional public schools.” This conclusion seems to be drawn on a purely statistical basis and one that does not account for the holistic function of charter schools nor improvement scores. Charters usually draw students whose parents have found that other schools are not the best path to their success in education. Also, charters approach the learning process with a handicap in terms of funding, and therefore have fewer resources at their disposal to aid in the educational process. The fact then that these institutions have been able to ensure students keep pace with traditional public schools should stand out as an accomplishment, not a demerit.

While this debate continues in the Statehouse and in educational think tanks, concerned parents and supporters of charter schools are asked to be ready to fight the passage of this bill with a concentrated effort. So far, the bill has narrowly passed the House by a 52-46 vote. According to the same survey that has provided data some use to criticize charter schools, parents who have chosen these institutions are “highly satisfied” with the charters their children attend. Given this enthusiasm, it seems reasonable that parents and supporters will rally to the cause. This hot issue continues to burn as the bill sits in committee in the State Senate as of this writing.

Jonathon is a junior at Marian College, majoring in English. He can be reached at jciani380@marian.edu.