MYTH:
The Charter School Law does not go far enough to protect the taxpayer from dishonesty or misconduct.
TRUTH:
The current Charter School Law provides: “(b) A member of the board of trustees who is convicted of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude shall be immediately disqualified from serving on the board of trustees.”
Senate Bill 1085 removes this language and for Cyber Charter Schools replaces it with:
“If, after a hearing under this section, in the case of a cyber charter school, the department proves by a preponderance of the evidence that an administrator or board member of a charter school entity has violated this article, the terms and conditions of the charter or any other violation of law, IN THE CASE OF A CYBER CHARTER SCHOOL, the department may require the charter school entity to replace the administrator or board member in order to obtain renewal of the charter.”*
In other words, this bill (SB 1085) removes the protections of the court system and replaces it with politically-tinged bureaucracy. In reality, charter school are subject to strict oversight and auditing requirements. Any questionable practices can be adequately addressed under the current law. Due process of law should not be replaced by arbitrary authority with potential for abuse. This is “reform” we don’t need.
*Similar language is used for non-cyber charter schools.
MYTH / TRUTH prepared by:
Dr. James Hanak, CEO, PA Leadership (Cyber) Charter School