4 ms·

Kind of. Many charter schools are run by private boards or individuals that don't answer to the city or state [1], many are run by for-profit management compani

by SamBam 4y ago

Kind of. Many charter schools are run by private boards or individuals that don't answer to the city or state [1], many are run by for-profit management companies [2]. In many states, charter schools amount to a privatization of public schools because they are run by organizations that don’t answer to the public and in some states aren’t subject to key rules that apply to government agencies, such as open meetings and public records laws. In these states, the only things that make charter schools "public" is the fact that they take money from the district or the state, and tuition is free, but in all other respects they are basically private schools. In other states they are directly under the control of the school board, and are indeed public schools. 1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2019/02/02/charter-schools-are-not-public-schools/?sh=7dffe4f26832 https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2019/02/02/charter-... 2. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/what-are-charter-schools/2018/08 https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/what-are-charter-scho...

xhkkffbf 4y ago
Well, they're answerable to the public in that parents can take the kids to another school if things aren't working out. And since they're paid a certain dollar amount per warm body, the school has a pretty direct feedback loop.
- SamBam 4y ago
  Sure, but in that way a private school is public as well. > "parents can take the kids to another school if things aren't working out. And since they're paid a certain dollar amount per warm body, the school has a pretty direct feedback loop." Indeed, this is exactly why British private schools like Eton are called "public schools," because anyone can attend if they have the money. But in the US we use a different definition.
seneca 4y ago
Not saying you're wrong, but I feel the need to point out the framing that something being controlled by government beurocrats is what makes it public by this definition. Charter schools are often free to attend, available for anyone to apply to, and are accountable to the families attending them and the voters who elected officials that made them legal. That's a perfectly reasonable version of "public" as well, it's just not centralized.

by SamBam 4y ago

xhkkffbf 4y ago

Well, they're answerable to the public in that parents can take the kids to another school if things aren't working out. And since they're paid a certain dollar amount per warm body, the school has a pretty direct feedback loop.

SamBam 4y ago
Sure, but in that way a private school is public as well. > "parents can take the kids to another school if things aren't working out. And since they're paid a certain dollar amount per warm body, the school has a pretty direct feedback loop." Indeed, this is exactly why British private schools like Eton are called "public schools," because anyone can attend if they have the money. But in the US we use a different definition.

seneca 4y ago

Not saying you're wrong, but I feel the need to point out the framing that something being controlled by government beurocrats is what makes it public by this definition. Charter schools are often free to attend, available for anyone to apply to, and are accountable to the families attending them and the voters who elected officials that made them legal. That's a perfectly reasonable version of "public" as well, it's just not centralized.