QUESTION 2: Charter School Expansion
Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives on or before May 3, 2016?
SUMMARY
This proposed law would allow the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to approve up to 12 new charter schools or enrollment expansions in existing charter schools each year. Approvals under this law could expand statewide charter school enrollment by up to 1% of the total statewide public school enrollment each year. New charters and enrollment expansions approved under this law would be exempt from existing limits on the number of charter schools, the number of students enrolled in them, and the amount of local school districts' spending allocated to them.
If the Board received more than 12 applications in a single year from qualified applicants, then the proposed law would require it to give priority to proposed charter schools or enrollment expansions in districts where student performance on statewide assessments is in the bottom 25% of all districts in the previous two years and where demonstrated parent demand for additional public school options is greatest.
New charter schools and enrollment expansions approved under this proposed law would be subject to the same approval standards as other charter schools, and to recruitment, retention, and multilingual outreach requirements that currently apply to some charter schools. Schools authorized under this law would be subject to annual performance reviews according to standards established by the Board.
The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2017.
WHAT YOUR VOTE WILL DO
A YES VOTE would allow for up to 12 approvals each year of either new charter schools or expanded enrollments in existing charter schools, but not to exceed 1% of the statewide public school enrollment.
A NO VOTE would make no change in current laws relative to charter schools.
See full text of Question 2
ARGUMENTS
As provided by law, the 150-word arguments are written by proponents and opponents of each question, and reflect their opinions. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not endorse these arguments, and does not certify the truth or accuracy of any statement made in these arguments. The names of the individuals and organizations who wrote each argument, and any written comments by others about each argument, are on file in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
IN FAVOR: A YES vote on Question 2 gives parents the right to choose the best public schools for their children.
Charter schools are PUBLIC schools open to all children. They offer longer school days and more individual attention, and have a proven record of closing the achievement gap for kids trapped in failing school districts.
Today, almost 33,000 children are stuck on waiting lists for public charter schools because of the legislature's arbitrary cap on enrollment. Voting YES would give more children the opportunity to attend these great public schools -- especially in the state's lowest-performing school districts.
Voting YES does not harm local school districts. Cities and towns with new public charter schools will receive MORE state education aid if Question 2 passes. Charter growth would happen gradually; new public charter schools must be approved by the State Board of Education and are subject to rigorous and frequent performance reviews.
Authored by:
AnnMarie O'Connor Little
Great Schools Massachusetts
67 Kemble St. Suite 2.1
Roxbury, MA, 02119
617-439-7775
greatschoolsma.org
AGAINST: Every time a new charter school opens or expands, it takes funding away from the public schools in that district. This year alone, charter schools will take more than $400 million from already-underfunded Massachusetts public schools. And charter schools are not accountable to the local taxpayers who fund them.
Under this proposal, the number of charter schools in Massachusetts would nearly triple in just 10 years, costing local public school districts more than $1 billion a year.
If some public schools are falling short, we should fix them, not take money away and give it to privately-run charters. We need to support schools that serve all children. That means investing in areas such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), arts and music, and Pre-K, not diverting even more resources to charters, which educate just four percent of students. Save Our Public Schools. Vote NO on 2.
Authored by:
Juan Cofield, Chair
Campaign to Save Our Public Schools
P.O. BOX 15
Boston, MA 02137
617-460-7337
saveourpublicschoolsma.com