ICYMI: A Proposal That Gives Charter Schools A Chance

Editorial Board – “Lawmakers should look past their over-the-top rhetoric and bring Maryland into line with common-sense policies of other states”

The Washington PostEditorial Board
February 25, 2015

“MARYLAND GOV. Larry Hogan (R) has proposed improvements to Maryland’s charter school law, currently the worst in the nation. Teachers union leaders and traditional public school officials are aghast. Lawmakers should look past their over-the-top rhetoric and bring Maryland into line with common-sense policies of other states. …

“More encouraging is that legislative leaders have said they are open to looking at ways to make it easier to open and operate charters. Maryland’s law is so restrictive that, 12 years after it allowed creation of charters, only 18,000 of Maryland’s 870,000 students attend them.

“A number of high-performing charter networks won’t even think about locating in the state. Most onerous are policies that tie the hands of charters in who they can hire and how they evaluate, discipline and pay staff. It makes no sense that teachers are employed by local school boards instead of charter operators or that they are subject to rules of collective bargaining agreements designed for a different system.

“Some aspects of Mr. Hogan’s legislation may need refinement (the exact formula for per-pupil funding, for one) but the sky-is-falling arguments about teachers getting hired off the streets or taxpayer dollars going to waste are without merit. …

“But such schools could spur innovation and offer alternatives to families who need them. That may seem unimportant to families well-off enough to move to the school district of their choice, but many children don’t have that luxury.

“Mr. Hogan has fashioned a sensible plan to free charters from unnecessary bureaucracy while still leaving in place a strong system of oversight to ensure quality and accountability. The General Assembly should follow his lead.”