Tenn. needs alternative charter authorizer
Leaving task solely to school boards is an inherent conflict
When it comes to education, Tennessee has set itself apart from the rest of the country. Tennesseans achieved this by coming together in a bipartisan manner to establish common-sense policies that are in the best interests of our children.
Over time, we have made significant strides to identify and retain excellent teachers and principals by adopting meaningful educator evaluations, bringing professionals into the classroom through alternative certification pathways and valuing effective teachers through tenure reform.
But despite progress in ensuring that every child has access to a great teacher, the state’s legislators must continue their work to provide every child with access to a great school.
In an effort to do just that, Tennessee policymakers are considering legislation that will allow an alternative public charter school authorizer to exist, in addition to local school boards. Under the state’s current law, local school boards act as the only bodies that can grant permission for all charter schools across the state to open.
According to the Cen- ter for Education Reform, states that do not have authorizers outside of the local school board are more likely to create hostile environments for public charter applicants. Since school boards could view charter schools as their competition, there is an inherent conflict of interest and a natural incentive to reject them.
That’s like the owner of Central BBQ having to obtain permission from a competitor — say, the owner of a local McDonald’s — to be allowed to open its doors. Thus, no matter how much children might want an alternative option for a meal, their parents might be forced to settle for a choice of either Big Macs or Chicken McNuggets.
Unfortunately, Tennesseans are faced with gatekeepers in the public school education sector as well. And yes, we also deserve more quality options for our kids.
Some local school boards in our state have made headlines for rejecting applications from quality public charter schools with records of academic success. Last fall, one local board rejected an application from a great charter school on multiple occasions. On appeal, the state Board of Education instructed the local school board to approve the application, but its members refused — denying one more school option to parents and children in that district.
With the passage of the legislature’s current version of this bill, charter schools in certain districts could appeal a denial to a proposed new state charter school panel, which could approve the application and authorize the charter school. This panel would look at charter applications only, unlike the current process, which sends an appeal to the state Board of Education.
By establishing an alternate authorizer, Tennessee will ensure that charter applicants are considered in an objective manner. High- quality charter schools will have the opportunity to expand across the state, giving children and their parents more high- quality school options to choose from.
Legislators must put the interests of our children first by taking a stand to broaden the range of highquality schools. This can be done through a mix of strategies, but it should start with establishment of an alternative public charter school authorizer.
Tennesseans are right to feel proud of the work they’ve done so far in reforming education policies and making significant academic progress, but now is not the time to stop. Together, as parents, policymakers, educators and students, we can get the job done. Brent Easley is Tennessee state director of StudentsFirst, a nationwide organization advocating for education reform.