Experts offer tips to improve N.M. charter school law
New Mexico’s laws for authorizing and overseeing charter schools are solid but could benefit from some additional measures, according to recent National Alliance for Public Charter Schools data.
And to take a step in that direction, the state’s Public Education Commission, the 10-member body charged with authorizing state charter schools, recently updated its application and performance review criteria to hold prospective charter schools more accountable for meeting academic, programming and financial goals.
A string of charter school authorizers and analysts testified to the state’s success in overseeing state-authorized charter schools during Thursday’s Legislative Education Study Committee hearing at the Roundhouse.
Katie Poulos, director of the charter school division of the state’s Public Education Department, said it’s a myth that anyone can open a charter school in New Mexico.
“The reality is, we’re not seeing that,” she said.
New Mexico has 97 charter schools, with 56 authorized by the state’s Public Education Commission and the other 40 authorized by local school districts, which also have the
power to approve charters.
That figure has not changed much in the past five years.
Proponents of charter schools, which are public schools overseen by their own governing bodies and operating under more autonomy than a traditional public school, say charters offer parents and students a chance to thrive in an alternative setting.
But critics cite national studies showing charter school students generally don’t academically outperform their counterparts in other public schools and complain they draw much-needed funding away from traditional schools. For example, a 2016 New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee report said charter schools in the state tend to perform on par with traditional schools, displaying little difference in student achievement scores.
Thursday’s hearing was not focused on outcomes, though, but on how to ensure the state and school districts are doing the right thing when it comes to authorizing charters. “We just want to approve the authorization of these charters,” Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque and chairwoman of the committee, told the assembly.
Lisa Grover, a state advocate for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said that while New Mexico ranked 25th on a list of 45 states with charter schools in terms of charter school law and oversight, it still rates “very strong” — adding the state is that low in the rankings only because the other states have continually updated their laws governing charters.
The alliance recommended a number of measures for New Mexico lawmakers to consider, including allowing just one authorizer, such as the state, to approve or deny charter school applications, and not allowing charters authorized by one authorizing entity — say, a school district — to apply for approval from the other entity if they are in danger of being closed because of financial challenges.
New Mexico’s laws are “vague” regarding renewal standards because they simply say charters already in operation must make “substantial” progress toward academic goals without pinpointing what “substantial” means, Grover said.
Grover also suggested the state provide annual reports on charter school progress and approval so legislators “know how your charter schools are performing.”
Stewart pointed out that state law already mandates that the Public Education Department do this by Dec. 1 of every year. But, she said, the last time the state received such a report was in 2013.
Poulos took responsibility for that oversight, saying, “I have fallen short on that,” without providing more details. She told Stewart she would get a 2018 report together by year’s end.
Rep. Elizabeth Thomson, D-Albuquerque, said that attitude struck her as “dismissive … we can’t do our jobs if we can’t get information.”
It’s unclear if any more movement on the issue will take place before a new governor takes office in January. Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce said in an email statement he favors “thorough and effective oversight of all schools. He believes students and parents deserve a choice and New Mexico must encourage excellence in all forms of education whether it’s public, private or home school. There are many paths to creating a good school.”
His opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, has said she would like to implement a halt to approving any new charter schools for New Mexico until lawmakers and educators can analyze how well they are working and what steps need to be taken to provide more oversight.