Lawmakers have resurrected a measure to expand charter schools in Tennessee.
Both Democrats and Republicans in a House committee approved more charters schools in at least five large schools systems.
Nashville Representative Beth Harwell originally intended the bill to allow any public school child eligible for free or reduced lunches to attend to a charter school. That could have added tens of thousands of kids to charter enrollment.
As amended Wednesday, her bill allows charter schools to expand more slowly, but steadily.
“This increases the caps from fifty to ninety, for a state. In Memphis City Schools there’ll be thirty-five, in Nashville it can be capped at twenty.”
Democrats had called the bill a raid, removing from the public school system money that follows each student.
The bill requires charter schools to take students from failing public schools first, and then accept other at-risk children through a lottery. In Nashville, school officials estimate shifting $9 million this coming year for students attending five charter schools.
The bill would affect Davidson and Sumner counties, Memphis city schools, and Hamilton and Knox counties.
The bill started the day in the House Education Committee but could be voted into law as early as tonight, if the General Assembly relaxes all the “notice” rules.
The bill also calls for state education department to specifically track students in charter schools to see how they fare.
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An earlier version of the measure had failed in a House committee, but U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke to some Democratic lawmakers, urging them to find a way to expand the charter system.
Harwell says Memphis Representative Ulysses Jones will fine-tune the bill to make sure the new schools address the toughest problems first.
“Representative Jones is going to offer a very good amendment on the House floor, that would make sure that we prioritize, that failing children will get first priority, and then any slots that are still left would go to at-risk in a strict lottery basis.”
The bill has an additional provision, to have the state Department of Education carry out an longitudinal study of students in charter schools. Harwell explains:
“There is an amendment that will call for tracking of these students, to see where they ultimately end up, not….. graduation, and where they end up in our society. I think it’s a good way to keep up with what are the most promising practices of our charter schools.”
The charter schools bill earlier had been put on ice. The agreement today was the first sign of a thaw between the two parties, which have been feuding all week over everything from statues to loopholes in a technical tax bill.
The bill is HB 2146 Harwell/SB 2133 Woodson.
The bill passed the Senate May 7, in a different form, 22-7 with one senator not voting.
The House version, as amended, was approved by the House Education Committee this morning, and successfully swept through the House Budget Subcommittee shortly before noon.
The bill on May 20 had been stalled in the House Education Committee, which voted along party lines to put it off to 2010. Democrats voted en bloc against the bill.
Our previous stories on the bill and the issue:
Charter School Expansion Coming Up for Vote in State House
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009, by Joe White
House Education Committee Adjourns, Leaving Charter Schools Bill Unresolved
May 20th, 2009
Nashville Representatives Divided on Charter Schools
May 19th, 2009
Bill to Expand Charter School Enrollment Delayed a Week
May 13th, 2009
Dean Asks Lawmakers to Ease Charter School Restrictions
April 29th, 2009
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