Missouri House passes charter expansion bill

The Missouri House has passed a bill that could allow charter schools to expand to more districts.

With an 83-76 vote on Thursday, the House passed a proposal that would allow charters to operate in more heavily-populated districts such as Springfield and Columbia. It would also allow charters to move into districts with at least one low-performing school.

House Speaker Todd Richardson said the proposal ensures accountability by allowing the state to revoke a charter's renewal application for low performance. He said it also allows more choice for kids zoned to low-performing schools.

The legislation now moves to the Senate.

It would only allow new charters to open if the state school formula is fully funded.

Opponents decried the expansion, saying the bill doesn't offer enough accountability for charter schools. Some raised concerns about low performance of existing charters.

Under the current law, charter schools are allowed to open once they find a sponsor - usually a university - and the state grants approval. Oversight largely rests with the sponsor and a privately-appointed board since the state doesn't have the power to force closure.

In the debate Wednesday, House Speaker Todd Richardson proposed an amendment he said would add accountability to the charter process. His addition would allow the state to provisionally renew a charter's application for poor performance. If performance doesn't improve, the state can refuse to accept the application.

Some said Richardson's proposal didn't go far enough.

"It's going to take years from the time that those contracts are renewed for us to shut down a school that we already know is underperforming," House Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty said.

The bill would also allow charters to open if at least one school in the district met less than 60 percent of state standards. Students from that school would then have priority for charter enrollment.

Critics argued that could have a negative impact on districts that perform well as a whole but have one, low-performing building.

One example is Columbia, which has consistently high overall performance scores but contains one school that met just 35 percent of state standards in 2016. The school, Frederick Douglass High School, is an alternative school that provides extra training and classroom opportunities for students at risk of dropping out.

In recent years, some school choice advocates have used charter schools as a solution for failing, mostly urban, districts. In states like Michigan, largely unregulated charter school expansion took a toll on Detroit public schools by spreading local and state tax dollars thin and left schools fighting for students.

But Richardson said there's no danger of that in Missouri.

"Is a charter school the answer to a failing district? No," he said. "A charter school can be the answer for that child or that parent who has been trapped in a really, really terrible school district."