“For years we’ve heard from charter applicants in New Jersey that the system is flawed,” said Jeanne Allen, CER president. “But, this last round of reviews was extremely troubling, prodding us to dig deeper.”

Only four of the 58 charter school applications submitted this fall were approved. CER acquired and analyzed hundreds of pages of rejected applications, the corresponding denial letters and reviewer comments. The report details the lack of transparency in the application review process while uncovering severe bias and subjectivity applied by external reviewers and the New Jersey Department of Education’s Office of Charter Schools.

“Uncovering the truth was almost as arduous as applying for a charter in New Jersey,” said Alison Consoletti, vice president for research at CER and the report’s lead author. “Given the heightened media scrutiny and the hostile charter environment, denied applicants were reticent to share their rejected applications. We went to great lengths to honor their anonymity, so as not to compromise future applications.”

New Jersey’s charter school law earned a ‘C’ grade and ranks 19th out of the nation’s 41 laws. Only three percent of New Jersey’s public schools are charters and more than 20,000 students are currently on waiting lists for these innovative public schools.

Allen noted, “There is tremendous demand for more quality educational options in the Garden State. We’re hopeful that state lawmakers in Trenton will not lose sight of important legislation on the table this session that could significantly improve the state’s law. Creating multiple authorizers for charter schools is a sure fix to meet the increasing demand by families for better schools, provides a more objective process for vetting and holding charters accountable and, over time, will ultimately save taxpayers significant dollars.”

Download the full report The Garden State’s Missed Opportunity

One of the nation’s most populated and important political states today moved closer to adopting a full school choice program for its neediest children when its state Senate just passed SB 1, which moves to the House, as early as this week.

“Kudos to the state’s courageous leadership, who put education for children first in their actions today, despite enormous pressure by unions and the status quo,” said Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform. “This bill is the lifeline children need to ensure a true path to success – in learning and life.”

Championed by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R) and Sen. Anthony Williams (D), the enacted bill with passage in the House would:

• Give families with children in the lowest performing school districts the opportunity to choose a better school for their child, with the money allocated for their education following them to the school their parents best feel meets their needs.

• Provide additional tax incentives for businesses to contribute their profits to scholarship organizations (the Educational Improvement Tax Credit), which provide middle and low income parents with support to pay for alternative educational opportunities.

• Make additional improvements to the state’s charter school law paving the way for further action in the House that would enable new, publicly accountable authorizers to manage, open and monitor charter schools. Such laws in other states are responsible for the highest number of high quality charter schools.

“Today in the U.S., growing numbers of policy makers are seeing increased student achievement in states that have adopted similar, bold initiatives,” said Allen. “Pennsylvania is on the cusp of meaningful education improvement with this exciting development.”

A recently passed Senate bill now being debated in the House provides Michigan with the opportunity to strengthen its charter school law and provide new choices for even more of the state’s students.

Two of the primary measures in the bill include removing the cap on the number of charter schools university authorizers may approve and elimination of the “single site” requirement allowing school replication. This removes many of the roadblocks successful charter schools in the state face in creating additional schools.

“Michigan’s students deserve their chance at success and that requires giving them the freedom to explore educational options tailored to their specific needs,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform. “Students who want to be in charter schools are stuck on waiting lists with even more trapped in failing schools, which the US Secretary of Education predicts will dramatically increase this year.”

In addition to numerous other important improvements regarding accountability and operations, the proposal before the House would ensure increased digital learning opportunities among all students

“Michigan’s law has fallen behind those it used to outpace by failing to improve on important charter policies that increase quality opportunities for students. The current, bi-partisan effort, once passed, will further the state’s standing as a state making strides in reforming education,” said Allen. “Removing roadblocks to replicating successful charter schools is necessary to strengthen the state’s educational system.”

CER last ranked Michigan’s charter school law as the nation’s 5th strongest in its report “Charter School Laws Across the State,” a report that will is annually updated each winter.

The Center for Education Reform (CER) celebrated and recognized the extraordinary achievements by eight renowned education leaders by honoring them with the prestigious EdReformies Award at CER’s 18th anniversary gala event, EdReformies – Rockin’ Reform Revue Gala.

The 2011 EdReformies were awarded to The Honorable John Boehner, Katherine Bradley, Kevin Chavous, John Fisher, Steve Klinsky, John Legend, Eva Moskowitz and Brian Williams of NBC News. This select group of leaders was chosen for their accomplishments in education reform that collectively span almost all the states. This group has helped spur several million education opportunities for children throughout the U.S.

Among their accomplishments, the award recipients have been pioneers in the rapid growth of the charter school movement, have advanced and protected private school choice programs in Congress, and have increased and enhanced dialogue on major education reform issues over network television.

“Tonight’s special honorees exemplify true leadership in education reform. Millions of education opportunities have become available to hundreds of thousands of children that may have not had those opportunities before. Change is never easy and it takes time, but with a little help from our friends, we can provide better education for our children,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform.

Every few years CER celebrates with a night dedicated to honoring distinguished leaders who have been integral in creating and expanding quality educational opportunities for children. This year, CER created its own musical ensemble, The Reformers (education reformers with talent), the only rock group solely committed to celebrating education reform. The Reformers paid tribute to EdReformies recipients through classic rock musical selections.

Members of The Reformers include:

Bob Bowdon, Director, “The Cartel” and Founder, Choice Media
Kenneth Campbell, President, Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO)
Jonas Chartock, CEO, Leading Educators
Paul Powell, Founding Principal, Uncommon Schools-Troy Prep
Mickey Revenaugh, Executive Vice President, Connections Learning
Joe Williams, Executive Director, Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)
Caprice Young, CEO & President, EnCorps, Inc.
Dawn Chavous, Executive Director, Students First PA

“These Reformers put themselves in the spotlight so that many more kids with the greatest needs can be recognized by a wider group of people,” continued Allen. “This was an amazing night of education reform, musical talent and excitement.”

For more information about the EdReformies – Rockin’ Reform Revue visit www.edreform.com/18th.

Families with children in failing schools would be “empowered” to convert their traditional public school into a charter school under a bill that cleared a state Senate committee Wednesday, though critics say the conversion doesn’t promise academic improvement.

Under the “parent trigger” bill, schools would be offered to charter school authorizers if at least 60 percent of parents agree to the move, or if 60 percent of teachers want the change and 51 percent of parents agree. Schools would have to be in the lowest-performing 5 percent of Michigan schools to be eligible.
 Senate Education Committee chairman Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, said the plan offers more choices to involved parents who might be frustrated by the pace of improvement in an under-performing school.

Similar bills are under consideration in more than 20 states, according to national school choice advocates.

But opponents said the move would break teacher contracts and opens the door to charter advocates organizing in neighborhoods, nudging parents toward demanding the change.

“The parent trigger bill operates under a false premise that you can flip a switch and schools will improve overnight just because they’d be a charter school,” said Doug Pratt, public affairs director for the Michigan Education Association.

“None of these so-called education reforms will do anything to help kids. All they’ll do is line the pockets of charter school operators.”

The bill was approved in a 3-2 party line vote in the Republican-controlled Education Committee on Wednesday, and heads to the full state Senate. It’s the latest in a series of GOP-led changes intended to ramp up the number of charter schools and increase the competition for local districts.

Senate Republicans pushed through other charter school bills last week, including lifting the cap on university authorized schools and provisions intended the lure successful out-of-state management companies into working in Michigan.

The reform bills have opposition from unions and other school groups, including some state Board of Education members.
The Democrat-controlled board on Tuesday debated whether to send an “open letter” to lawmakers suggesting changes, but couldn’t get enough support because some members are opposed to adding charters and others didn’t like the proposed changes.

Board member Marianne Yared McGuire, D-Detroit, said the reform package would “open the floodgates” for charters and would “be the death knell for public education, which is something to revere in this country.”

Board member Cassandra Ulbrich, D-Rochester Hills, opposed the trigger bill, saying puts too much power in the hands of parents when other people in the neighborhoods have a stake in a school’s success.

The state Education Department in August released a list of 98 persistently low-performing schools based on standardized test scores; most were in Detroit and other urban areas.

Under the bill, parents or teachers collecting the needed number of petitions would request the district to convert the school to a charter school, allowing it to operate outside of union contracts. If the school board refuses, the parents and teachers could approach a university to authorize the charter.

Union contracts would be nullified, though lawmakers said there “is still work to do” on aspects of the bill including what would happen to teachers in a converted school.

The bill calls for the home district to lease the building to the new group for $1 a year, a provision that concerned school board advocates.

“I don’t see how you can have a mandatory $1 a year lease on a public building that taxpayers paid for,” said Don Wotruba, deputy director of the Michigan Association of School Board, which opposed the bill.

“It seems to me that the threshold is too low for a school to be converted. You don’t want parents being able to do this on a whim, because they’re mad at the board or the football coach or because of a contract situation.”

But Jeanne Allen, president of the Washington, D.C- based Center for Education Reform, called the trigger “the ultimate example of parental empowerment.”

California was the first with a law on the books, and Texas parents can intervene after two or more years of an “unacceptable” performance rating. Ohio’s pilot program applies to only the bottom 5 percent of Columbus schools, and Connecticut allows failing schools three years to change course before going into effect, Allen said California school boards and unions have fought the changes in the courts, including challenging the signatures on petitions.

“It’s tough for parents to wrestle control from the school boards, unions and educational establishment,” she said, “This is a different approach to change. It puts the parents back in the drivers seat.”