Commissioner of Education Mike Morath has repeatedly waived expansion requirements for charter school networks, allowing them to serve thousands more students, even when they don’t meet academic performance standards.
Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath testifying at the state Capitol in Austin last year. Lawmakers returned to Austin on Monday for a special session of the Legislature to consider helping Texas parents cover private school tuition with state dollars.
Since taking office more than seven years ago, Morath has repeatedly given charters permission to expand, allowing them to serve thousands more students, even when they haven’t met academic performance requirements. On at least 17 occasions, Morath has waived expansion requirements for charter networks that had too many failing campuses to qualify, according to a ProPublica and Texas Tribune analysis of state records.
Authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1995, publicly funded charter schools received a reprieve from some state regulations that govern traditional public schools in exchange for innovations that would lead to high academic performance. A waiver is just a first step in the expansion process, according to the statement. After receiving a waiver from Morath, a charter operator must ask him for explicit permission to expand. Of the 17 waivers Morath granted to charters with too many failing campuses, 12 led to expansion approvals.
As lawmakers debate allowing taxpayer dollars to go to private schools, they should consider the state’s inability to provide sufficient academic and financial oversight over charter schools, DeMatthews said. Pat Hardy, a Republican who has served on the board for more than 20 years, said granting waivers to charter networks with even one failing school goes against the intent of the law that established them.
Out of 11 schools that opened as a result of Morath’s waivers, three received an “unacceptable” rating within their first two years. All have since improved. In the latest year for which the state has released accountability data, two campuses, including Eastex, got scores that would normally rank them as low performing. But the state did not rate such schools that year because of the pandemic.
In 2018, KIPP consolidated its four separate Texas charter networks. The following year, KIPP had a combination of failing and not rated campuses that again required it to seek a waiver in order to expand. Once again, Morath granted the waiver. Green said she initially placed him in the school at the recommendation of her mother, who had researched campuses in the area and thought it would be a good fit. Then, Green said, she learned that her cousin’s children, who were in public school, were already writing their letters and names. She decided to withdraw her son after only a year, believing that the educational quality was inferior.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
Former inmate uses coffee to brew change in PasadenaTepito Coffee and Tea House provides jobs for formerly incarcerated men and women.
続きを読む »
Former inmate uses coffee to brew change in PasadenaTepito Coffee and Tea House provides jobs for formerly incarcerated men and women.
続きを読む »
Extra security set for town hall meeting after county commissioner reports threats over bingoBirmingham Real-Time News
続きを読む »
Rutgers remains safe in ever-expanding Big Ten, new commissioner saysBig Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti eased the concerns of Rutgers fans who were worried about the school's standing in a post-expansion Big Ten.
続きを読む »
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expects to add another expansion team soonWNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said at her annual state of the league address before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals that the league most likely will be adding another expansion team soon. That would go along with the one announced last week that will be owned by the Golden State Warriors. Engelbert mentioned a few cities including Denver; Philadelphia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon, which is considered a front-runner. Portland had a WNBA team from 2000-02.
続きを読む »