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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > May > 14 > Entry
Luckie wants new limits on charter schools
Clayton Luckie
Looks like while I was out of town, Ohio Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, introduced in the legislature the bill he promised last month that would limit charter school companies from opening new charter schools unless they can demonstrate that they are replicating a high performing school they already run successfully in Ohio.
The current law allows charter companies to open new charter schools in Ohio as long as they can demonstrate they have at least one high performing school they manage somewhere in the country. This means a company operating low performing schools in Ohio can keep opening more schools as long as it can point to high performers in other states.
And Luckie’s bill goes futher, blocking any charter company with a low performing school from opening more charter schools.
Here’s Luckie’s press release:
Rep. Luckie Introduces Bill to Limit Creation of New Charter Schools
Legislation Limits Expansion of Underperforming Operators
State Representative Clayton R. Luckie (D-Dayton) today introduced legislation limiting the expansion of charter schools under operators running poor-performing schools in Ohio. The bill would bar charter school operators from opening additional schools in Ohio if other schools they control in the state are listed in academic watch or academic emergency by the Ohio Department of Education.
Current law allows operators to open a new school in Ohio if they can show they operate other effective schools anywhere in the nation.
“Ohio has allowed charter schools to operate without proper oversight or accountability for far too long,” Rep. Luckie said. “Right now, the message to out-of-state operators is, ‘As long as you deliver quality education to Arizona’s children, take our public money and do whatever you want in Ohio.’ Ohio’s children deserve better.”
Luckie crafted this legislation in response to a situation in his district.
Imagine Schools, Inc., based in Virginia, recently announced its intention to open a new school in Dayton. The company operates 51 schools in several states, seven in Ohio. Two of its schools in the Columbus area - Great Western Academy and Academy of Columbus - are on Academic Watch and Academic Emergency, respectively. Imagine Schools, Inc.’s other Ohio schools have not been operating long enough to receive state report cards from the Department of Education.
“I fail to see how we can allow Imagine Schools, Inc. to open new schools in Ohio until they prove they can adequately educate children to Ohio’s standards,” Rep. Luckie said.
Governor Ted Strickland proposed a moratorium on new charter schools last year in Ohio’s budget, but the idea was rejected by pro-charter school Republicans, and negotiations produced the current law.
“It is time to demand that private companies operating with public funds deliver on their promises of quality or face serious consequences,” Rep. Luckie said. “It is time to enact effective charter school reform so we can repair what’s broken in our school systems.”
House Bill 552 now awaits assignment to a House committee for formal hearings.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Charter Schools and School Choice
Comments
By Laura
May 16, 2008 7:54 PM | Link to this
Lised, the schools DO educate the children. The real problem lies with the parents and as they get older, the children themselves. As a teacher noted on another post, many of our youth don’t think they have any responsibility in their own success. Students and their parents are well aware that they must pass the OAT to graduate but they make choices not to attend classes, not to study, not to attend study groups or take practice tests. And then, when they don’t pass, their parents complain that they haven’t had enough chances and no one helped them. Children in DPS get more help and opportunities than most children in any other district and they still expect more.By Barb
May 16, 2008 11:28 AM | Link to this
Isn’t Clayton Luckie one of the people who got DPS to the place it is? As they were going further downhill didn’t he abandon the sinking ship? Perhaps he is taking over where Marc Dann left off. I hope he is just not grabbing onto the whatever he thinks will promote his career as so many DPS people do. But in truth hasn’t he already show where his loyalty belongs, to himself first.By JM
May 15, 2008 11:17 PM | Link to this
First of all - Ohio Bd. of Ed. is to blame for this whole mess. They cannot agree on fair funding for the public schools, thus the door was opened wide for the charters to come in and give the ole “pie in the sky” story to parents. And still Ohio has not ruled on the issue of funding, is it any wonder the gatekeepers have brought this whole mess upon us? As long as Ohio schools are funded as they are, I see nothing but the same old rhetoric. Sometimes I wonder if the officials think we have forgotten they have not ruled on fair school funding for all children. We all need to make sure we are complaining about the same thing - unequal (funding) for all of Ohio’s children.By lised
May 15, 2008 8:44 PM | Link to this
Maybe Mr. Luckie should be thinking about how to make the Dayton Public Schools functional and competitive. I am sure if parents could rely on the public schools truly educating their children they could put the charter schools out of business. After all, this is a capitalist society and when the public infrastructure fails to meet its obligation, private capital can step in and do a better job, so be it.By charterschoolhater
May 15, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this
I am not disputing that charter schools need to be held to the same standard’s as the public ones. All public schools including charters should go by the same rules. Charter schools need more oversight. I just think that the state of Ohio has more pressing issues before it than helping the Dayton Schools get out of mess they created themselves. Charter schools are more prevalent and popular in Dayton, Ohio, than anywhere else in the country. They are because the Dayton Public Schools are one of the worst public school districts in the county and parents want better for their children. The alternative to charter schools(Dayton Public) is so bad that the parents are believe that any school, even a bad charter school is preferable to Dayton Public. Now some contributors to this blog including Mr. Elliot can blame the state, no child left behind or whatever. When the day is over, the it is same old story. The Dayton Schools are lousy, the tax payers and the children deserve better and improvement is not happening. Now in corporate America when the company is going bankrupt, the CEO and all his top cronies are let go. What does the board do. They go around with blinders on and pretend what is reality, is in fact fiction. What is fiction is that Mack and his cronies performance is good enough to keep their jobs. I say NOT!! In closing, I am a democrat to the core, but Clayton Luckie’s lack of attention to the issues that are most pressing to all Ohioans, makes me ashamed to say we are part of the same political party.By Oldprof
May 15, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
It only makes sense. Charter school backers claimed that they would be wonderful, the magic bullet that would fix education. Just give parents choice, and the competition will yield quality. Well, it hasn’t worked that way at all; instead it’s created a fractured, factious system where parents choose based on anything BUT quality, and where the parents who “choose” have no guarantee that the school will be open even through the end of the current academic year. Time for standards and proper public school funding, not more experiments by amateurs.By ACL
May 15, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this
Right on Rep Luckie! Charter school companies need to be held accountable for there performance in the Ohio school system. We need a moratorium on Charter schools in Ohio.By Joe
May 15, 2008 8:56 AM | Link to this
The most important thing to remebmber is that a parent does not have to send their child to a underperforming charter school, unlike the underperforming public schools in Rep Luckie’s distict. Why doesn’t Rep. Luckie develop a system to force the public schools to improve their performance before they recieve State funding for new facilities and also allow freedom of choice for parents in public schools? This is just another bone to the teachers unions to maintain thier system of perks and no acccountablity or competition.By charterschoolhater
May 15, 2008 12:53 AM | Link to this
Gas prices are at an all time high in Ohio. Our state is leaching good paying jobs. And all Clayton Luckie can do is introduce legislation to limit charter schools. I am sure happy he is not my representative. It is apparent that he is no better a representative than he was a school board member. By the way Clayton, how much did Isaacs and Mack pay you for introducing this? The vast majority of people in your district do not care that this law would only benefit your board friends in Dayton. Focus on other more pressing issues will you.