I-1240 (creating a public charter school system): Some 41 states already have such schools. They came into being a generation ago in response to complaints by minority parents, in particular, in big-city school systems that their kids were trapped in bad schools and could not escape them without enrolling in private schools beyond their means. The proposal, [unsurprisingly], is opposed by teacher unions. The public charter schools would be required to meet the same academic standards as traditional public schools; their teachers would be required to meet the same requirements as teachers in other public schools. But the charter schools would be able to offer more staffing, curriculum, budget, and tailored learning flexibility than other public schools. In many other places, charter schools often are identified as taking traditional reading-writing-arithmetic approaches to learning. … [A public charter school option] would not even be on the public agenda if parents were satisfied with the education their kids presently are getting in traditional public schools. Charter schools are no panacea. But I’ve seen them elsewhere and see no reason they should not be established here. I voted Yes.
