On Friday, the Senate Committee on Education heard ideas about charter schools and school choice. “Senators hear charter school reform proposals”, Lindsay Kastner, San Antonio Express-News, August 24, 2012. Among the proposals:
- Creation of an independent charter “authorizer” that would handle new charter school applications and oversee existing charter schools — duties currently held by the Texas Education Agency. (Speakers: Greg Richmond, National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and Lisa Grover, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools)
- Offering parents a voucher for $5,000 (about 60% of what the state pays for public school students) to help pay for private school tuition (Speaker: Joseph Bast, Heartland Institute)
- Lifting the cap on the number of charters, but weeding out unsuccessful charters by granting only a “provisional” license for the first three years. (Speaker: David Anthony, Raise Your Hand Texas) A provisional license, however, might hurt the credibility of a new charter school that is trying to raise capital and attract teachers and families. (Speaker: David Dunn, Texas Charter Schools Association)
