Charter schools on state's agenda

HARRISBURG -- A nonprofit law firm that advocates for the rights of public school students urged lawmakers not to act in haste on legislation regarding charter schools that House Republicans considered on Tuesday.

The House Education Committee today will hold a hearing on the issues of charter schools and vouchers. House leaders have yet to announce whether they will seek to pass the legislation before they recess for the summer.

Charter school legislation has been virtually off the radar in recent months but has arisen as a Republican priority in the final eight days before the June 30 recess. The bill would allow charter schools to avoid a requirement that they apply to school districts for approval to set up a charter school.

Charter schools were established in 1997 as a public option to offer alternative education, encourage innovative teaching practices and hold schools accountable for academics.

The Education Law Center said, "Deliberative actions have not taken place to date. And such complicated and contentious issues should not be handled in a rushed or piecemeal manner."

Rep. Tom Killion, R-Chester County, the bill's sponsor, said he believes he has "the votes to do charter school reform." He said today's hearing will determine whether it can move forward or whether more information is needed.

G. Terry Madonna, political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College, who follows the Legislature closely, said he was not aware of charter school legislation being a priority.

"They need something other than the budget to claim this session was a success," Madonna said. "A fair number of lawmakers would support charter schools who would not support vouchers. Maybe they are trying to broaden the package to attract lawmakers."

The application process to become a charter school requires approval from public school districts. Killion maintains that's a conflict of interest for school districts because the districts and charter schools compete for the same funding and students.

Under his bill, Killion said, charter schools would have the option of applying to the district or a state board. The board would include three appointees by the governor and four by legislative leaders of both parties.

In a scaled-down version of his bill, only applicants in the lowest performing 10 percent of Pennsylvania schools would be allowed the option of applying to the board, Killion said.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, which opposes vouchers, said through a spokesman it would have to see specific language in the bill before commenting.

Pennsylvania has 135 charter schools and 12 cyber charter schools, according to Ken Kilpatrick, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools.