CEA-NEA Position on Charter Schools

• We support innovation within public schools.

  School reform, by whatever means including charter schools, should promote rigorous learning standards, decentralized and shared decisionmaking, choice in educational offerings, and freedom for practitioners from burdensome regulatory requirements. Charter schools can be change agents by charting new and creative ways of teaching and learning, or they can allow unprepared people to start schools and undermine education. Depending on how charter schools are developed, structured, governed, and funded, they have the potential to unleash teacher creativity and enrich education opportunities for many students.

• Charter schools must be truly public schools.

  Charter schools must have open admissions and be able to meet the needs of at-risk students or those requiring special education. They should be nonsectarian and not for home schooling. As taxpayer-funded schools, charter schools should be able to demonstrate a level of accountability at least as high as in other public schools. Charter schools should have certified professionals working with students. Learnings from charter schools should be shared with those in traditional public schools as a way to promote systemic reform. Otherwise, charter schools could become isolated pockets of potential change.

• Charter schools must be accountable to students and taxpayers.

  With the loose oversight and reporting required under most state charter laws, it can be difficult to ensure that both students and taxpayers are well served by charter schools. The complete deregulation allowed in charter schools (except for health and safety and anti-discrimination protections) can lead to a weakening of public accountability and can leave students without options and opportunities if schools close. Funding mechanisms in many state laws allow students in charter schools to receive more funding than students in traditional public schools. This creates an unequal playing field for students and is creating dissension in many communities.

• Our Association wants to learn more about charter schools.

  To learn more about charter schools as a potential for school change, NEA has begun a charter school initiative, working through its state affiliates.