Panel encourages legislators to lift cap on charter schools
Thursday, December 20th, 2007
By Chris Fitzsimon
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, December 20, 2007
RALEIGH
A state panel examining North Carolina’s charter schools recommended yesterday that legislators loosen the current law that limits the number of these alternative schools to 100.
In a compromise among members, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Charter Schools agreed that the number of charters be increased by up to six a year, with more to be permitted as existing charter students at those schools perform well on standardized tests.
The commission also said that the State Board of Education, which approves charters and created the commission, should be more aggressive in closing schools that have low test scores and do not improve.
“We would be growing, but we would be growing at a controlled and manageable rate,” said Sen. Joe Sam Queen, D-Haywood, a commission member. “I want the cap to grow on the basis of high-performing schools, not some arbitrary number.”
The charter-school number has been capped at 100 since the General Assembly approved the charter concept in 1996. Legislators had been unwilling to raise or eliminate the cap, as many Democratic legislators and education groups have questioned whether charters are doing a consistent job in improving student performance. (more…)
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