Proposed Wisconsin Bill would allow charter schools to expand free of districts, unions

Erin Richards and Jason Stein:

Wisconsin could see a dramatic rise in the number of charter schools operating outside of districts and without teachers unions, under a new Assembly bill brought by Republicans that would take independent charters statewide.

The proposed legislation would eliminate district-staffed charters and empower a new slate of authorizers to approve independent charters: all four-year and two-year University of Wisconsin System institutions, as well as all the state's regional educational service agencies and technical college district boards.

The measure comes as Republican lawmakers intensify their efforts to pass a charter-school bill in the remaining months of the session.

Independent charters are controversial because they are public schools run like private businesses; they don't employ unionized staff and don't have to answer to school boards. They exist through a contract, or charter, with an approved nondistrict entity.

Advocates see the schools as important to reform efforts because they're not bogged down by school system bureaucracy and have more flexibility in curriculum and staffing.

Opponents criticize the schools for not having to follow the same rules as traditional districts, and for being the darlings of business interests. The schools also, in effect, reduce funding for traditional public schools the charter pupil otherwise might have attended.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 19, 2013 12:08 AM
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