8 Myths of Senate Bill 8 – Bullet Points

8 Myths of Senate Bill 8 – Bullet Points

Myth # 1 “Charters are way to racially segregate public schools.”

  • Law requires open enrollment, bars discrimination; lottery used in case of over-subscription
  • Charter Act designed to target at risk students
  • 31 charters over 60% minority; of these, 30 meet state growth and proficiency standards
  • 247 district schools with over 90% minorities enrolled and 11 historically black colleges

Myth # 2 “Charters are underperforming and we do not need more”.

  • In North Carolina, 52.2% are Schools of Distinction or Honor Schools of Excellence v. 38% district
  • In North Carolina, 76.8% of charters made AYP v. 57.8% district
  • Studies of charter success: Stanford’s Caroline Hoxby, Florida State’s Tim Hass, and Harvard’s Tom Kane
  • Parents should compare local charter versus local district school
  • Parent interested more in his/her choices versus national studies

Myth # 3 “Charters take money away from public schools”.

  • Charters are public schools.
  • Ball State study said average 400 child charter gets $365,000 less than district school
  • Charters don’t get buildings so local taxpayers save money

Myth # 4: “Charters must have cafeterias and bus service to be fair to every child.”

  • 39 charters provide transportation service; others devise parent carpooling and other transportation plans
  • Several charters have children from up to 9 counties versus the compact attendance zones districts have
  • First priority in a charter school is quality education and by necessity they may forego other services
  • Best option is to expand charters so they are closer to where the family lives in the first place

Myth # 5: “New charter legislation will create an unneeded and unconstitutional commission.”

  • Need a dedicated and charter-knowledgeable body to oversee the charters; state board duties too broad
  • Charters in states with separate charter oversight bodies have fared better
  • Charters more accountable if outcomes attributed to one body
  • Volunteer board; costs negligible and borne by charters themselves

Myth # 6: “Charters are not accountable to anyone.”

  • Actually have more oversight, including, most importantly, parent oversight by their choice of the school
  • Subject to all the state testing requirements, constantly monitored by the state, and have CPA audits
  • State standardized student and financial reporting, NC Wise and ISIS, school’s independent board of directors

Myth # 7: “Charters do not serve children with disabilities and at risk youth.”

  • Law requires the same standards for charters as district schools

Myth # 8: “Charters want to take even more money from district schools in the new bill”.

  • LEAs supposed to share funds in their “Current Expense Fund” with charters but did not do so for years
  • LEAs got caught in the “Sugar Creek” law cases and had to pay back the money kept from charters
  • 2010 Legislature buried in Budget provision to allow LEAs to continue to retain certain funds from charters
  • SB 8 corrects this and just restores the law to what it was before