Granted, it’s not the sexiest story to come down the pike. It’s only one of the most important ones. Stories about school issues tend to be that way. They’re more about the X’s and O’s than the end zone dance.
Which is why a couple of things that happened yesterday in Harrisburg are good news.
The Senate took action on a package of bills targeting the burgeoning world of charter schools. They are aimed at making them more accountable, both in terms of their funding and student performance.
But they will not, as had initially been proposed, do two things. Those who operate charter schools will not get an exemption from the state’s right-to-know law, and a plan to take the decision to grant a charter away from local schools boards and put it in the hands of a state board in Harrisburg has been scrapped. Both are welcome changes.
I got a call from state Rep. Tom Killion, R-168, yesterday. It was his bill that opened the door to the right-to-know exemption. He wanted to talk about Sunday’s editorial in which we maintained that was not a good idea. He wanted to assure me of a couple of things. First, he never intended to give that kind of break to charters, and that the language was going to be stripped out. It was. Good.
The measure was passed by the Senate Rules Committee in its amended form and could be voted on by the Senate today.
Charter schools need to be watched every bit as closely as public schools. In Chester Upland, nearly half of the district’s students are now enrolled in charters. They should follow the same rules as public schools, and local school boards should be the ones deciding whether to grant a charter, a move that will have a big effect on their district.
Both developments yesterday are good for education in Pennsylvania.
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