Charter school bill heads to Senate

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jun 19, 2009 - Page: 6A

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Legislation that would allow for more charter schools in Louisiana passed a state Senate committee Thursday.

House Bill 519, sponsored by state Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, was originally written to set an administrative fee on charter schools.

The measure was amended in the state Senate Education Committee to eliminate the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state. Up to 70 schools are allowed today.

A charter school is a school that gets public funds but are freed from many of the regulations that oversee traditional public school and are run by their own boards independent from school districts.

Leger said the amendment is necessary for the state to compete for a federal grant set up with money President Barack Obama says will stimulate the economy.

By the end of the year, the U.S. Department of Education will be distributing grants from the $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund.

“States that have a cap on charter schools will have a competitive disadvantage and may not receive funds,” Leger told the Senate panel.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan made similar comments earlier this month and President Obama supports charter school expansion.

The committee passed HB519 without objection. It now heads to the Senate floor for debate.

Leger pointed to a recent report released by Stanford University which says Louisiana charter schools outperform traditional schools in certain subject areas.

State Sen. Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, said the same study also showed that not all charter schools are successful.

State Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek said the state tightened its charter school regulations after watching a couple of the schools fail. “To become a charter school, we have one of the most strenuous approval processes,” Pastorek said.

Tammie McDaniel of Oak Ridge, a member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, said the board on Wednesday reviewed several charter schools and “put a couple of them out of business” for not meeting standards.