As a public school advocate, I am calling on legislators to ensure fairness and equity to school communities in the charter school application process. Charter schools are approved, or existing charters are expanded, by SUNY through a process that can be opaque and not accountable to the local community. 

Please focus on the following changes to the charter school application and expansion processes to create a more transparent and accountable process:

• Support legislation naming the Board of Regents the sole charter authorizer.
• Require a vote of the public to approve a charter school application. 
• Ensure that charter schools serve all students that public schools do – including special education, economically disadvantaged and English language learners.

 

Strong public schools rely on transparent, community-based decision-making. Community public school districts outside of the Big 5 are required to put their budgets to a public vote annually. Charter schools should be required to demonstrate the same level of community support to be able to access taxpayer funds.