West Virginia needs to try charter schools
EDITORIAL
Charleston Daily Mail
Tuesday August 25, 2009
Public education isn't serving some students as well as it should.
No fewer than 40 states have passed legislation to allow so-called "charter schools" - schools free of some of the hidebound state regulations that govern public education.
Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, will again sponsor a bill to allow the state Board of Education to approve experiments with charter schools.
It's high time West Virginia did that.
Public education isn't working for all students. It's time to see if allowing educators more freedom enables them to teach more effectively.
Make no mistake: In areas where parents take an active interest in their children's education, West Virginia's public schools shine.
But public education has for decades now been failing the students who need the most help. That's a scandal that cannot be defended.
Wells' bill would let the state school board approve plans by groups that want to start their own schools. Charter schools would have to be non-profit, non-religious, meet state and federal anti-discrimination laws, and would still be under state control.
But charter schools would not have to live with rigid school calendars or methods set by politicians and bureaucrats. They also would be liberated from personnel laws related to hiring, firing and seniority.
In theory, charter schools would be free to do better.