"Presumptions of invalidity" Closing the Window on Charters in Madison?

The Madison School Board recently discussed (first 15 minutes of this video) a new "charter school policy" drafted by Julie Mead, a UW-Madison School of Education Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis.

The following documents are worth reviewing:

"Using Charter School Education and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity" by Julie Mead and Preston Green [3MB PDF pages 12-44].

"Model Policy Language for Charter School Equity" by Julie Mead and Preston Green [3MB PDF pages 45-52].

Page 13 of this slide based 1.9MB PDF includes:

Rebuttable Presumptions of Invalidity

A. [A] proposed charter school that is unlikely to attract a student body whose composition of racial and ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and students from low-income families that is within 10% of the population for each of these sub-groups within the community or communities intended to be served by the charter school is presumed to be invalid;

B. The applicant can overcome this presumption by providing clear and convincing evidence that the charter school will satisfy the policy goal of providing equal educational opportunity for all students; and

C. Evidence of the support of parents for the proposed school approach may be considered but shall not be the primary evidence that the school positively serves the public's interests and is therefore insufficient by itself to overcome this presumption of invalidity.

Related: Professor Mead along with School of Education Dean Julie Underwood published this paper: A smart ALEC threatens public education.

Via a kind reader.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 21, 2012 4:57 AM
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