Category Archives: Charters

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Are Religious Charter Schools Constitutional?

The Supreme Court will soon weigh-in

Thanks to Bill Lee’s unabashed embrace of Christian Nationalism, charter schools affiliated with extremist Hillsdale College are a reality in Tennessee.

Exceptionally Bad

A key question – in TN and elsewhere – is can state funds be used to support explicitly religious charter schools?

In Kentucky, the Supreme Court ruled that charter schools are NOT public schools. Period. So, no state funds may be used to support them.

Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up a case on state funding of religious charter schools. An analysis of the key issues includes:

The third issue that the U.S. Supreme Court must address is that it needs to determine whether those who run charter schools are state or private actors. This is because the vast majority of people who run charter schools are private groups. However, these charters are defined by law as public schools and are supported by tax-payer dollars. If the Court rules that those who operate the charter schools are state actors, then because they must be non-sectarian, religious charter schools will be ruled unconstitutional. However, if the Court rules that charter schools are private actors, then religious charter schools will be ruled constitutional.

In Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s highest court found that because charter schools are operated by private actors, they are essentially private schools. In other states, that has not been the case. It will be interesting to see how the U.S. Supreme Court sorts this out.

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Disaster

Charter school in Rutherford Co. sees 100 students leave

A newly-opened charter school school in Rutherford County has already seen nearly 100 students return to the local public schools.

The move comes after an opening to the school year at Rutherford Collegiate Prep that some are calling a “disaster.”

WKRN has more:

At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 100 students have returned to Rutherford County Schools (RCS) after trying out the county’s new charter school: Rutherford Collegiate Prep Academy.

“The opening of RCP [Rutherford Collegiate Prep] has been a disaster,” said Lea Maitlen, parent of a recent RCS graduate. “On the very first day, multiple children were lost by the school for hours as parents became increasingly frantic. One parent referred to the day as ‘apocalyptic.’” 

RCP’s charter was rejected by the Rutherford County School Board, but that decision was overruled by Gov. Bill Lee’s handpicked charter school commission.

A Call for Local Control
Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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On Charter School Accountability

Once opened, charter schools are rarely closed

Part of the supposed allure of charter schools is that they are held accountable. Some proponents even suggest they have more accountability than traditional public schools. After all, based on poor performance, a school board or charter authorizer can close a charter school.

Except that rarely happens.

Instead, as Peter Greene points out with an example from Pennsylvania, once opened, charter schools are rarely forced to close. And, even if an authorizer does take action to close the school, legal battles can keep a school open for years.

The charter system was sold with the idea that charters would be accountable to authorizers, that they would have to earn the right to operate and continue earning it to maintain that operation. The Franklin Towne situation shows a different framing, one that is too common in the charter world–once established, the charter doesn’t have to earn its continued existence. It doesn’t need authorization from anyone; instead, authorizers build a case to close down the charter. Authorization to operate, once given, can never be withdrawn without protracted legal battles.

Tennesseans have definitely seen this myth play out. In fact, the authorizing of charter schools at a local level has also been superseded by Gov. Bill Lee’s handpicked charter school commission.

Roll Tide Roll

The state commission can force districts to take charters that local elected officials don’t want. And that commission can then allow those charters to stay open – even if they aren’t meeting community needs. Even if they are actually harming the students they take in by way of poor performance.

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A Tale of Two Charter Policies

Kentucky has zero charter schools, Tennessee has many but what does it mean?

Tennessee has moved aggressively to privatize-by-charter since a state law allowing charter schools was first passed back in 2002.

The past decade has seen a particular focus on charter schools as a way to provide opportunities for students from low income backgrounds.

Kentucky, however, has zero charter schools and a judge there recently found that charter schools do not meet the definition of “public schools” for the purpose of state education funding.

The states have taken different approaches – and the results suggest that Tennessee just might be on the wrong track.

What’s happened in the intervening 10 years? Has Tennessee closed the gap with Kentucky when it comes to economically disadvantaged kids?

Actually, no.

In both 8th-grade math and reading, the gap with Kentucky has expanded. Tennessee trailed Kentucky by 2 points in 8th-grade math in 2013 but now trails by 7. In reading, Kentucky went from being 2 points ahead to being 6 points ahead.

In 4th grade in both math and reading, the gap between the states remained the same (+3 for Kentucky in math, +8 for Kentucky in reading).

Turns out, another decade of pushing for privatization has not helped those Tennessee kids most in need of help.

train in railway
Photo by Mark Plötz on Pexels.com
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Hillsdale’s Got Trouble in Ohio

A Hillsdale-affiliated charter school caught just making stuff up

Cincinnati Classical Academy, a charter school affiliated with Hillsdale College, has some problems.

CCA “borrowed” the demographics from Cincinnati Public Schools in weaving a tale of serving low-income and minority students. As a result of their promise to serve underserved students, the school was awarded nearly $2 million in federal education funding.

The reality is that the school is located in a Cincinnati suburb and essentially operates as a free, private, Christian school for predominantly middle- to high-income white students.

The school’s $2 million federal grant received as a result of the application is now under scrutiny:

The Network for Public Education sent a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona protesting the grant and asking that it be rescinded. It was signed by Phillis’s coalition, along with U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), five state legislators who represent the area, the Ohio PTA, both state teachers unions, the Cincinnati NAACP, and more than a dozen public education, civil rights, local teacher associations and advocacy groups.

Hillsdale, of course, is in partnership with American Classical Education, the charter operator opening two schools in Tennessee next year. ACE has plans to open as many as 50 charter schools in the state. If that number is reached, local taxpayers will be on the hook for charter school funding to the tune of $350 million.

Exceptionally Bad
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Onward, Christian Charters!

Bill Lee’s privatization plot bears fruit

A Christian Nationalist charter school network with ties to extreme-right Hillsdale College will soon operate two schools in the state.

Gov. Bill Lee’s handpicked charter school commission reversed a decision by the Jackson-Madison school board and approved locating a Hillsdale charter in the district.

The Commission also rejected an appeal for a Hillsdale charter in Maury County, noting that the application just “wasn’t there yet.”

The Hillsdale charter in Jackson-Madison will be the second in the state after Rutherford County’s school board approved an application from the charter network earlier this year.

Rutherford School Board Approves Hillsdale Charter School

Lee outlined his plan to partner with Hillsdale for the development of up to 50 charter schools in the state back in his 2022 State of the State Address. In that address, Lee made clear his allegiance with the ideology of American Exceptionalism and his comfort with Christian Nationalism.

Exceptionally Bad

An analysis of the fiscal impact of charter schools found that the Hillsdale charters, as envisioned in their applications, would drain roughly $7 million from each district where they operate.

If Lee’s dream of 50 Hillsdale charters is realized, more than $300 million could be transferred from state and local taxpayers to the charter network.

EXPOSED: Hillsdale Heist Would Drain $35 Million from Rural, Suburban School Districts

Even before he was a candidate for Governor, Lee was an advocate for funneling tax dollars to private, religious schools.

SHOCKING!

Even though as early as 2016, Bill Lee was extolling the virtues of school voucher schemes and even though he’s a long-time supporter of Betsy DeVos’s pro-voucher Tennessee Federation for Children and even though he has appointed not one, but two voucher vultures to high level posts in his Administration, it is somehow treated as “news” that Bill Lee plans to move forward with a voucher scheme agenda in 2019.

How did we get here? In 2018 I wrote:

Bill Lee was on the right team and spoke the right, religiously-tinged words and so earned the support of people who will look at you with a straight face and say they love Tennessee public schools.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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Twice Denied

Hillsdale loses appeals in Madison, Maury counties

The Hillsdale charter network lost twice this week, with appeals to open their American Classical Academies in Madison and Maury counties denied on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

News on Madison from Nashville’s NewsChannel5:

It wasn’t just one, but 73 reasons the Jackson-Madison County School Board denied a charter school application connected to Michigan’s Hillsdale College.

The Jackson Sun newspaper reported those reasons included negative financial impact, no safety plans, lack of rigor and an unrealistic budget.

Here’s the story from Maury County in votes that happened earlier tonight:

The Hillsdale charters now have the option of appealing to Gov. Lee’s handpicked State Charter Commission.

Exceptionally Bad

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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Spending Big to Privatize

Tennesseans for Student Success spent heavily in 2022 to support pro-privatization candidates for office

Adam Friedman of The Tennessee Lookout has a fascinating story out about political spending in Tennessee.

The story includes notes on top donors, top lobbying spenders, and top spenders on campaigns by way of independent expenditures.

Turns out, support for privatizing public schools wins big when it comes to earning political money from Tennesseans for Student Success.

Here’s more on Tennesseans for Student Success and their agenda of shifting public money to private schools:

Team Kid’s Payroll
The Not So Super Hero

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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A Policy of Privatization

New education commissioner ready to implement agenda that undermines state’s public schools

Gov. Bill Lee’s new Education Commissioner, Lizette Gonzalez Reynolds, has been on the job since July 1st and says her priority will be implementing a raft of policies supported by Gov. Lee and passed by the General Assembly.

Chalkbeat has more:

Three weeks into her job as Tennessee’s education chief, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds says her charge from Gov. Bill Lee is to implement existing major policy changes — from how reading is taught to the continued rollout of private school vouchers — not to craft new initiatives.

Privatizing the state’s public schools has long been a goal of Lee’s, and it seems he’s now chosen a chief implementer of that policy.

SHOCKING!

Of course, privatization also comes in the form of handing public dollars over to unaccountable charter school operators – like Hillsdale College.

Exceptionally Bad

Then, there’s the state’s dangerous new school funding formula, TISA:

The Truth about TISA

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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Hillsdale Keeps Coming Back

Already approved in Rutherford County, Hillsdale-affiliated charter network tries again in Madison, Maury counties

It seems American Classical Education, a charter school network affiliated with Hillsdale College, is not satisfied with having a charter school in just one Tennessee district.

Tennessee Lookout reports:

American Classical Education, a Hillsdale College-affiliated charter school network, resubmitted amended applications in two of four counties that denied it earlier this year. 

School boards in Madison and Maury counties have until July 28 to review American Classical Education’s latest revision to its charter school applications. 

The Maury County School board will vote on the new applications at July 18 meeting. While school officials with the Jackson-Madison County School System said, its board would hold a special-called meeting before the July deadline to deny or approve the resubmitted application. 

The network won approval of a charter school to open in Rutherford County in 2024.

Rutherford School Board Approves Hillsdale Charter School

However, school boards in Madison, Maury, Montgomery, and Robertson rejected the Hillsdale applications.

In Maury County, the initial vote was 6-5 against Hillsdale. So, if the charter backers can simply switch one vote, they could see approval of a second Tennessee charter school.

Here’s what the Mayor of Maury County’s largest city has to say about Hillsdale:

Columbia Mayor Takes on Hillsdale Charter School

Winning a second (and possibly third) charter school could put Hillsdale well on the way to the 50 charter schools Bill Lee promised in his 2022 State of the State Address.

Exceptionally Bad

And if the local school boards don’t approve the appeals, Hillsdale can still appeal to the State Charter Commission, whose members have all been appointed by Lee.

Why does Hillsdale want so desperately to operate charter schools in the Volunteer State? Money.

An ATM for an Extreme Agenda

The charter network would be financed by state education funds and local property tax dollars – both enriching Hillsdale and driving up education costs for local school systems.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport