Washington, D.C. Today, the Kentucky Public Charter Schools Association and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools called on the Kentucky Charter Schools Advisory Council to significantly revise the draft public charter school application and contract created by the Kentucky Department of Education. Earlier this year, Kentucky became the 44th state (along with Washington, D.C.) to allow public charter schools when it enacted HB 520.
“HB 520 was crafted with care, making use of best practices and tested legislation from high-performing charter sectors across the country, fitted to the unique mold of Kentucky,” said Joel Adams, Executive Director of the Kentucky Public Charter Schools Association. “Both the application and contract developed by the Kentucky Department of Education significantly depart from the statute’s requirement for the promulgation of regulations.”
“These draft documents would severely hamper the ability of high-caliber founding groups to create and sustain excellent schools for the students who need them the most,” said Lisa Grover, Senior Director of State Advocacy and Support at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “They must be significantly altered if Kentucky wants its strong public charter school law to actually lead to high-quality charter schools for disadvantaged students.”
Both organizations submitted letters (see here and here) to the Kentucky Charter Schools Advisory Council detailing its concerns with the draft application and contract and stand ready to work with the Council and others in significantly revising these documents so that they follow the letter and the spirit of HB 520.
