The convention approved this position, to be added to our current education position.
It was decided that the consensus on the question on the foundation budget applied to both district schools and charter schools, and the position developed from that question belongs as an addition to the Statewide Standards section at the beginning of our education position. Therefore, the following addition, shown bold and underlined, is added at that point:
Education
Goal: Equal access to education. (LWVUS) (1967)
Statewide Standards (1967)
The League supports:
- the principle that the state Board of Education should set minimum educational standards for local public school systems with reasonable criteria for implementation
- the principle that the state Board of Education should provide services to assist local schools and to motivate them to improve the quality of education
- reasonable measures to implement these services
- adequate teacher certification
- adjustment of the state’s education funding formula (the foundation budget formula) to meet changing needs and to cover costs, including those associated with mandated programs (2017)
Below is the approved LWVMA charter school position:
Charter Schools (2017)
The League supports:
- The exclusive authority of the state to establish and oversee charter schools, and to adopt and enforce regulations relating to them
- State approval and regulation of the number and location of charter schools
- The establishment of charter schools only on a not-for-profit basis
- Funding both district schools and charter schools in ways that do not disadvantage either type of school. The state should have a formula to adequately fund both district schools and charter schools, and should develop methods for addressing the financial impact of charter schools on sending school districts.
- State responsibility for fostering robust cooperation and collaboration between charter schools and district schools. This includes, among other things, fostering the sharing of innovation and ideas between charter and district schools and minimizing the competition between them for scarce resources.
- State responsibility for the accuracy, transparency and ease of accessibility of charter school reports, to ensure accountability
- Equal access to charter schools for all students. This includes making every effort to have charter school applicant pools be comparable to the populations of their sending districts.
- Community and parent/guardian engagement in governance of charter schools. A charter school board of trustees should include, among others, community representatives, and charter school boards should seek to actively engage parents/guardians of currently enrolled students.
The League opposes:
- For-profit charter schools