Charter school abuses - and reforms needed to prevent them
The list below summarizes news articles on charter school abuses. These abuses are a direct and predictable consequence of lax regulation. In some cases, the suggested reform that could prevent the reported problems is also given.
C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. proposed a list of reforms to charter school law, applicable to any state, that would help prevent fraud, embezzlement, related-party deals, conflicts of interest, nepotism, and other charter school abuses, some of which are disturbingly common.
Many more articles remain to be added to this list, and new ones keep coming on a near-daily basis.
February 26, 2015
Article Title: When a Wildlife Rehab Center Regulates Charter Schools: Inside the Wild World of Charter Regulation
Source: Truth-Out, by Marian Wang of ProPublica (link)
Summary: A nature sanctuary turns out to be the largest regulator of Minnesota charter schools, raising serious questions about the competence of many charter school authorizers. The article gives several examples of how very lax oversight by authorizers led to serious abuses. It also discusses a number of conflicts of interest of charter authorizers, who in some cases profit from or have connections to the schools they are supposed to oversee.
Problem: Unqualified charter authorizers, or authorizers with conflicts of interest.
Reform needed: Allow only local school districts to authorize charter schools, with appeal to a single state agency possible only if the local district board is not elected. Impose controls on the state agency to ensure it has no conflicts of interest.
Article Title: When a Wildlife Rehab Center Regulates Charter Schools: Inside the Wild World of Charter Regulation
Source: Truth-Out, by Marian Wang of ProPublica (link)
Summary: A nature sanctuary turns out to be the largest regulator of Minnesota charter schools, raising serious questions about the competence of many charter school authorizers. The article gives several examples of how very lax oversight by authorizers led to serious abuses. It also discusses a number of conflicts of interest of charter authorizers, who in some cases profit from or have connections to the schools they are supposed to oversee.
Problem: Unqualified charter authorizers, or authorizers with conflicts of interest.
Reform needed: Allow only local school districts to authorize charter schools, with appeal to a single state agency possible only if the local district board is not elected. Impose controls on the state agency to ensure it has no conflicts of interest.
February 11, 2015
School: First Place Scholars
Article title: Second probe launched into state’s first charter school
Source: Seattle Times, Seattle WA (link)
Summary: Washington's state charter school commission has initiated a second investigation into the First Place Scholars charter school, concerning possible financial misconduct as well as academic deficiencies. One concern is that the school may have used public money to pay off debts incurred before the school converted from a private to a publicly-funded charter school.
School: First Place Scholars
Article title: Second probe launched into state’s first charter school
Source: Seattle Times, Seattle WA (link)
Summary: Washington's state charter school commission has initiated a second investigation into the First Place Scholars charter school, concerning possible financial misconduct as well as academic deficiencies. One concern is that the school may have used public money to pay off debts incurred before the school converted from a private to a publicly-funded charter school.
February 9, 2015
Article title: GovWatch: Laws allow felons to serve on charter school boards
Source: Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio (link)
Summary: The Ohio State Auditor office found that convicted felons were serving on charter school boards in Columbus and Cleveland. Remarkably, this is not illegal under Ohio law, but Auditor Dave Yost wants the law to change. Note that convicted felons cannot serve on the boards of traditional district schools.
Article title: GovWatch: Laws allow felons to serve on charter school boards
Source: Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio (link)
Summary: The Ohio State Auditor office found that convicted felons were serving on charter school boards in Columbus and Cleveland. Remarkably, this is not illegal under Ohio law, but Auditor Dave Yost wants the law to change. Note that convicted felons cannot serve on the boards of traditional district schools.
November 30, 2014
Article title: EXCLUSIVE: New York charter school audits reveal $28 million in questionable expenses
Source: New York Daily News (link)
Summary: A nonprofit organization has reviewed charter school audits and concluded that in New York State, these schools have racked up over 28 million in expenses that may be fraudulent or unethical.
Article title: EXCLUSIVE: New York charter school audits reveal $28 million in questionable expenses
Source: New York Daily News (link)
Summary: A nonprofit organization has reviewed charter school audits and concluded that in New York State, these schools have racked up over 28 million in expenses that may be fraudulent or unethical.
October 17, 2014
School: Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy, Cincinnati OH
Article title: Former charter school leader gets plea deal (link)
Summary: The school's former leader has been convicted on felony charges relating to the abuse of public school money for personal purposes.
School: Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy, Cincinnati OH
Article title: Former charter school leader gets plea deal (link)
Summary: The school's former leader has been convicted on felony charges relating to the abuse of public school money for personal purposes.
July 30, 2014
School: Horizon Science Academy Cincinnati
Article Title: FBI raided local charter school
Source: Cincinnati.com (Enquirer Media), Cincinnati, Ohio (link)
Problem: The State Department of Education cannot close a charter school, "except in the case of a serious health violation." Horizon Science Academy Cincinnati was raided by the FBI, yet its authorizer, the Toledo nonprofit Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West, shows no interest in terminating its charter.
Reform needed: State departments of education must be empowered with the authority to shut down a charter school even if its authorizer does not choose to do so.
School: Horizon Science Academy Cincinnati
Article Title: FBI raided local charter school
Source: Cincinnati.com (Enquirer Media), Cincinnati, Ohio (link)
Problem: The State Department of Education cannot close a charter school, "except in the case of a serious health violation." Horizon Science Academy Cincinnati was raided by the FBI, yet its authorizer, the Toledo nonprofit Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West, shows no interest in terminating its charter.
Reform needed: State departments of education must be empowered with the authority to shut down a charter school even if its authorizer does not choose to do so.
July 10, 2014
School: (proposed) International Charter School, Tamarac, Florida
Article Title: Commission Recommends Toughening Codes After Denying Charter School Application
Source: Tamarac Talk, Tamarac, Florida (link)
Problem: A proposed charter school "would have been run by Newpoint Education Partners, which operates schools out of Ohio and Florida with a graduation rate of 10 percent.” However, this was apparently not the grounds for rejection of the school's application, which was apparently based on concerns about zoning exceptions. It appears there is nothing in the charter law that allows performance of the operator or management company in other states or locations to be considered when reviewing an application.
Reform needed: A charter operator or charter management company’s record in other states, cities, or counties, or even nations (in the case of multinational operators such as Sabis) must be considered during the charter authorization process. This record must include academic performance, financial management, ethics violations, and parental complaints. Significant deficiencies in any of these areas may be grounds for denying the charter, regardless of whether the charter application meets all legal requirements or not.
School: (proposed) International Charter School, Tamarac, Florida
Article Title: Commission Recommends Toughening Codes After Denying Charter School Application
Source: Tamarac Talk, Tamarac, Florida (link)
Problem: A proposed charter school "would have been run by Newpoint Education Partners, which operates schools out of Ohio and Florida with a graduation rate of 10 percent.” However, this was apparently not the grounds for rejection of the school's application, which was apparently based on concerns about zoning exceptions. It appears there is nothing in the charter law that allows performance of the operator or management company in other states or locations to be considered when reviewing an application.
Reform needed: A charter operator or charter management company’s record in other states, cities, or counties, or even nations (in the case of multinational operators such as Sabis) must be considered during the charter authorization process. This record must include academic performance, financial management, ethics violations, and parental complaints. Significant deficiencies in any of these areas may be grounds for denying the charter, regardless of whether the charter application meets all legal requirements or not.
June 2, 2014
Article Title: SEC hits Chicago charter school operator with fraud charges
Source: Fortune Magazine (link)
Summary: The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO), a which operates a chain of charter schools in the Chicago area. UNO is charged with failure to disclose essential information, including an insider contract, in a $37.5 million bond deal (the article says "billion" but this is surely an error).
Article Title: SEC hits Chicago charter school operator with fraud charges
Source: Fortune Magazine (link)
Summary: The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO), a which operates a chain of charter schools in the Chicago area. UNO is charged with failure to disclose essential information, including an insider contract, in a $37.5 million bond deal (the article says "billion" but this is surely an error).
June 1, 2014
Article Title: New Charter School Report Recommends Reform in PA
Source: Centre County Gazette, State College PA (link)
Problem: "SCASD school board member David Hutchinson says that some charter schools 'have figured out how to game the system' to receive the special education tuition rate by identifying new special education students who may not have required an Individualized Education Program in their home school districts."
Reform needed: Classification of students as special education by charter schools must follow the exact same criteria used by district schools in the same county where the school is located. The State Charter School Oversight Board must periodically review case files to ensure compliance with this law. If a charter attempts to reclassify any student that is transferring from a district school as special education, it must require approval by the State Charter School Oversight Board to ensure that there has either been a genuine change in the student’s situation, or that the district overlooked the student’s needs.
Article Title: New Charter School Report Recommends Reform in PA
Source: Centre County Gazette, State College PA (link)
Problem: "SCASD school board member David Hutchinson says that some charter schools 'have figured out how to game the system' to receive the special education tuition rate by identifying new special education students who may not have required an Individualized Education Program in their home school districts."
Reform needed: Classification of students as special education by charter schools must follow the exact same criteria used by district schools in the same county where the school is located. The State Charter School Oversight Board must periodically review case files to ensure compliance with this law. If a charter attempts to reclassify any student that is transferring from a district school as special education, it must require approval by the State Charter School Oversight Board to ensure that there has either been a genuine change in the student’s situation, or that the district overlooked the student’s needs.
May 6, 2014
Article title: New report cites $100 million-plus in waste, fraud in charter school industry
Source: Washington Post, Washington DC (link)
Summary: Two nonprofit organizations have released a report entitled “Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, & Abuse” that estimates charter schools have defrauded or wasted over $100 million in public money in 15 states. Insufficient oversight is identified as a key problem.
Article title: New report cites $100 million-plus in waste, fraud in charter school industry
Source: Washington Post, Washington DC (link)
Summary: Two nonprofit organizations have released a report entitled “Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, & Abuse” that estimates charter schools have defrauded or wasted over $100 million in public money in 15 states. Insufficient oversight is identified as a key problem.
April 4, 2014
School: Memphis Academy of Health Sciences
Article Title: Board member says Memphis charter school held illegal meetings
Source: Commercial Appeal, Memphis TN (link)
Problem: A board member alleges that the school held two illegal board meetings, without notifying the public in advance as required by Tennessee state law. In one of these meetings, an interim executive director was appointed for the school, after its longtime director resigned.
Reform needed: Charter schools must be fined for violating public meeting and sunshine laws.
School: Memphis Academy of Health Sciences
Article Title: Board member says Memphis charter school held illegal meetings
Source: Commercial Appeal, Memphis TN (link)
Problem: A board member alleges that the school held two illegal board meetings, without notifying the public in advance as required by Tennessee state law. In one of these meetings, an interim executive director was appointed for the school, after its longtime director resigned.
Reform needed: Charter schools must be fined for violating public meeting and sunshine laws.