Should charter schools be forced to close their doors after receiving two consecutive F grades?
State lawmakers mulled that question Tuesday, with some expressing concerns charter school operators would not take on students who face steeper odds if their schools were shuttered before they had a chance to show progress.
“I just think that we may want to look at this language a little more closely and do some carve-outs with the exceptions,” said state Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach. “When you’ve got some areas in districts that are chronically low performing, we might want to try something different and modify that language somewhat.”
Other lawmakers said it’s important to hold charter schools accountable, and a Department of Education official said it’s possible for schools to make quick turnarounds.
Charter schools are publicly funded and run by governing boards under contracts with school districts.
Current law says school boards should move to terminate charters after two back-to-back F grades. But under the draft that members of the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee looked at Tuesday, the termination would be automatic.
There are three exceptions.
One is for charter schools specifically established to turn around the performance of a district public school. Another is for charter schools that serve students who mostly live in a school zone served by a F-rated public school. A final exception is for charter schools granted a waiver of termination by the state board.
After its review, members of the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee did not take any action Tuesday.
Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah and chair of the subcommittee, told them to continue working on the draft of the bill. He said the goal is to “bring down barriers” to getting high quality education while also holding schools accountable.
South Florida administrators support shutting down the double F-schools.
“If they’re a low performing school that’s not serving needs of students, then they shouldn’t be in operation,” said Jim Pegg, who oversees charter schools in the Palm Beach County School District.
Administrators in Broward County agreed, saying that allowing a failing charter school to remain open is not in the best interest of students or taxpayers
But some lawmakers said they knew of schools where students were making strides that wouldn’t show quickly enough to avoid being shut down.
State Rep. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, pointed to a school for children with dyslexia, saying two years might not be enough time to show gains. He said it would be helpful to look at whether there are other exceptions that should be explored.
“Parents are devastated about the potential loss of funding and closure,” Perry said.
Adam Miller, executive director of the Florida Department of Education’s K-12 School Choice Office, said schools have gone into areas where the odds were stacked against them and “done really amazing things really quickly.”
“It is incredibly difficult work,” he said. “It takes high levels of commitment and skill. But we have many examples of those operators that are going and not only beating the odds but really changing the odds in those communities.”
bshammas@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4528 or Twitter @britsham
