NC’s CHARTER SCHOOL LAW
Creating Two Public Education Systems
Creating Two Public Education Systems
Leanne
E. Winner
Director
of Governmental Relations
N.C.
School Boards Association
(919)747-6686
direct dial
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In 2011, the North Carolina General Assembly
voted to allow an unlimited number of charter schools in the state. However,
the basic laws regarding how such schools operate while they were regarded as
an "experiment" have not changed. This report contains a comparison
of laws and facts regarding local school systems and charter schools. The
list is not comprehensive because the original charter school act states the
following: "Except as provided in [the Charter School Act] and pursuant
to the provisions of its charter, a charter school is exempt from statutes
and rules applicable to a local board of education or local school
administrative unit." G.S. 115C-238.29E(f)
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________________________________________
The Facts on Charter
Schools:
North Carolina has a separate system for publicly funded charter
schools that are:
• governed by
private, non-elected, unaccountable boards that can include out-of-state
residents and individuals who profit from the school monetarily;
• operated by
for-profit, often out-of-state corporations;
• exempt from the
legal and ethical laws developed for public school governing boards over the
past 55 plus years;
• exempt from
public bidding laws designed to safeguard public taxpayer dollars;
• allowed to
recruit for sports teams by immediately accepting students regardless of where
they actually live;
• exempt from the
requirement of having 100% licensed teachers; and
• exempt from
providing transportation and meals, thus excluding many at-risk children from
the
• practical
ability to attend.
Charter School Questions for Our Elected Officials and Every
Citizen
1.
Shouldn’t these taxpayer funded schools operate within the same legal standards
as other public schools?
2.
Shouldn’t the people and private companies running these taxpayer funded
schools be subject to the same conflicts of interest laws as public employees?
3.
If“no”,whom are we trying to benefit because it’s not the children or the
taxpayer?
LOCAL
SCHOOLS OPERATED BY A BOARD OF EDUCATION
Students Served
All
children have a right to attend
1.During 2010 –
11, approximately 55% of the students in the traditional public schools
qualified as Economically Disadvantaged under NCLB.
2.Students cannot
be suspended or expelled without hearings
3.Students cannot
be asked to leave
4.Students must
“reside” (i.e. be domiciled) in the school district to play sports. Many
families must move if they want their children to play sports at a particular
school.
CHARTER
BOARDS OPERATED BY A PRIVATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Students Served
• Lottery system
determines admission of “eligible” students
• "Eligible
student" = Charter School Act allows the school's charter to limit
enrollment by intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, and
athletic ability
• During 2010 –
11, approximately 30% of the students in charter schools qualified as
Economically Disadvantaged under No Child Left Behind
• Of the 99
charter schools at that time, 33 had less than 15% of their students qualify as
Economically Disadvantaged and 27 of 33 had less than 10%
• Students can be
suspended or expelled without hearings
• Charter school
does not have to consider alternative educational services for suspended
children
• Students can be
asked to leave due to academic or behavior problems
• Students can
play sports regardless of residency
CHARTER BOARDS OPERATED BY A PRIVATE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
Governance and Accountability
• Private board of
directors runs the school and is not accountable to the public despite
being
publicly funded
• Members of the
board of directors do not need to live in the county or in the State of
North Carolina
• Ethics laws do
not apply to Board members (for example: the accountant for the charter
school
can also serve
as its Board Chair)
• Board members do
not have to receive any legal or ethics training
• No limit on what
the private company or its employees can be paid
• Employees can be
fired by Board without any hearing rights
• 50% of middle
and high school teachers can be unlicensed
• 25% of
elementary school teachers can be unlicensed
• No restrictions
or accountability on how public dollars are spent
• School is not
required to participate in the Teacher and State Employees Retirement
System
• School is not
required to participate in the State Health Plan
• Are not required
to have any teacher workdays
• Are not bound by
specified start/end dates
• Not subject to
public bidding laws
•
Curriculum/Educational Requirements
• No restriction
on class sizes
• No standard
curriculum requirement
• Students take
End-of-Grade and End-of-Course Tests
• Are not required
to provide transportation
• Are not required
to provide a free and reduced lunch program or any other meal program
Funding
State funds do
not revert to the State at the end of the fiscal year
LOCAL SCHOOLS OPERATED BY A BOARD OF
EDUCATION
Governance and Accountability
• Board of
Education is publicly elected and must live in the school district (except for
3 city boards whose members are appointed by public officials)
• Board members
are subject to numerous State Ethics Laws
• Board members
must receive a minimum number of hours of legal and ethics training
• All employees
are public employees
• 100% of all
teachers must be licensed
• Teachers and
other employees paid according to State salary limits
• All employees
have hearing rights by statute if terminated
• Expenditures are
limited by General Statutes and requirements of the Local Government
Commission (LGC)
• Required to
participate in the Teacher and State Employees Retirement System
• Required to
participate in the State Health Plan
• Required to have
teacher workdays
• Bound by specified
start/end dates
• Subject to
public bidding laws
Curriculum/Educational Requirements
• State mandates
class size averages and maximums in grades K-3
• Curriculum
follows the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and National Common Core
• Must transport
all students
• Must provide
lunch for all students including free-and-reduced
lunch to
all eligible students
Funding
• State funds do revert to the State at the end of the fiscal
year
NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 97877 | RALEIGH, NC 27624 | 919.841.4040 PHONE
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