ERIC ED498593: Strong Public Support of Michigan Charter Schools. Policy Report No. 13

4 Pages·0.16 MB·English

by  ERIC

Policy Report No. 13
January 2003

Strong Public Support of
Michigan Charter Schools

Tara Donahue, Policy Analyst
David N. Plank, Co-Director
The education policy Center at MSU

Charter schools remain politically Charter Schools in Michigan2
controversial in Michigan. The controversy Charter Schools, or public school academies
focuses on questions of choice and (PSAs), are publicly funded schools that operate
accountability. Advocates assert that parents independently under charters granted by a
should have choices—especially poor parents variety of public agencies. These agencies
who otherwise lack good options. Critics argue include local school districts, Intermediate
that charter schools perform no better than School Districts (ISDs), community colleges,
regular public schools, or that they are and public universities. Though universities
insufficiently accountable to public authority. can issue charters statewide, the other boards can
The Michigan legislature has failed to raise the only issue charters within their own districts.
cap, despite the policy suggestions of the Michigan first adopted a charter school law in
Commission on Charter Schools1. What do 1993. There are now more than 180 charter
Michigan citizens think about charter schools? schools in the state.
Seventy-two percent of Michigan residents Authorizing bodies have responsibility to
favor charter schools, the latest survey insure that the charter schools remain in
conducted by the Education Policy Center at compliance with state educational laws and
Michigan State University confirms. Although regulations. They can revoke charters in
levels of support differ according to schools that fail to meet agreed-upon goals and
demographic factors such as region, income, age, standards. Charter schools must adhere to
party identification, and union membership, the many (but not all) of the rules and regulations
majority of respondents in almost every governing other public schools. They must
demographic group support charter schools. employ certified teachers, and their students
Residents of the Upper Peninsula were the only must take the state-mandated Michigan
group in which less than half (40%) of the Education Assessment Program (MEAP) tests.
respondents support charter schools. In this As public schools, they must enroll all students
report we describe the charter school presence in who seek admission and for whom they have
Michigan and present the results of the survey.
At the end of the report, we compare the results 2 The introductory information on Charter Schools
of this survey to a similar survey conducted can be found on the Education Policy Center at
in 1997-98. Michigan State University Web site at
http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/epc/issues/focus.htm.
1 To see the complete report of the Commission on The Web site also addresses Charter School Caps,
Charter Schools, please visit Charter Schools and EMOs, and Charter Schools
http://www.charterschools.msu.edu/cschoolsrpt.ht and Accountability. Recent articles and other
ml#as. resources are also listed on the Web site.
space. If there is insufficient space to enroll all • A majority of Michigan residents (72%)
applicants, charter schools must use a fair lottery favor charter schools. About one quarter
to make enrollment decisions. They may enroll (28%) are opposed to charter schools.
pupils from any school district. Over half (58%) said that they were familiar
The authorizing bodies also oversee the or very familiar with charter schools, while
fiscal performance of PSAs. Charter school 4% have children who attend a charter
funding comes directly from the state. The school.
amount they receive depends on the number of
pupils they enroll. The authorizing body • Residents familiar with charter schools
receives the school’s financial allocation from are less supportive than residents not
the state and then turns it over to the local school. familiar with charter schools. Sixty-four
These bodies are permitted to keep up to 3% of percent of Michigan residents favor charter
the total state school aid received by the schools schools when they are very familiar with
they have authorized. them, and 73% favor charter schools when
Charter schools are funded by public money they are somewhat familiar with them.
and are therefore accountable to taxpayers, People reporting that they are not very
parents, students, and community members. familiar or not familiar at all with charter
Like traditional public schools, charter schools schools express slightly stronger levels of
can be held accountable for academic support, 76% and 75%, respectively.
performance, financial planning and distribution • Younger people are more supportive.
of resources, and administrative oversight. People ages 30-49 are most likely to favor
Charter authorizers and charter school boards charter schools (83%). Younger people,
play important roles in determining if the school those between the ages of 18 and 29, are
is meeting legal requirements, and they are the also highly favorable to charter schools
primary actors in ensuring the charter school is (74%). The percentage of people favoring
meeting all accountability standards. charter schools between the ages of 50 to 65
drops to 61%, and only 55% of the
Key Findings population over the age 65 favor charter
schools. A factor that may account for
these numbers is that people between the
Percentage of Michigan Residents Who Favor Charter Schools
100%
83% 83%
80% 72% 74% 75% 74% 74% 75%
69%
61% 62%
60% 55% 57%
40%
20%
0%
All Respondents Ages 18-29Ages 30-49Ages 50-65 Ages 65+Incommee <$$440,0,000000-$7I0,n0c0o0me $70,000+ UniNoon n-MUenimobn ersMembers RepublicIanndsependentsDemocrats
Inco
ages of 30-50 are the most likely to have while a significantly lower 57%
school age children. Democrats favor charter schools.
• African Americans are more • Enthusiasm for charter schools
favorable toward charter schools. differs according to community type.
Seventy-five percent of Rural, small town, and urban areas favor
African-Americans favor charter charter schools by 74%, 78%, and 75%,
schools, while 71% of whites favor respectively. Only 64% of suburban
charter schools. residents favor charter schools.
• Parents with children under the age • Residents of the Upper Peninsula are
of 18 are more likely to favor charter least likely to favor charter schools.
schools. Parents with children under Forty percent of residents in the Upper
the age of 18 are more likely to favor Peninsula favor charter schools. In the
charter schools (79%). People with no Lower Peninsula, support for charter
children under the age of 18 are less schools ranges from 70% in then
likely to favor charter schools (67%). Northern Lower Peninsula to 76% in
West Central Michigan. Residents in
the Northern Lower Peninsula favor
• People earning middle to high charter schools by 70% followed by
incomes tend to favor charter school. residents in the Southwest (72%), the
Three quarters (75%) of Michigan Southeast (73%), East Central (73%),
residents earning incomes between Detroit (75%), and West Central (76%).
$40,000 and $70,000 favor charter
schools. Among those earning less Has Support of Charter Schools in
than $40,000, 69% favor charter schools Michigan changed since 1997-1998?
while those earning over $70,000 favor The findings from the SOSS 26 Survey are
charter schools by 74%. similar to findings from the SOSS 13 survey
conducted in 1997-1998. Data from the two
• Union members are less likely to surveys are not directly comparable, but a
favor charter schools than non-union substantial majority favored charter schools in
members. Sixty-two percent of union both. For example, 62.6% of Michigan
members favor charter schools, while residents favored charter schools in 1997-1998
74% of non-union members favor and 23.4% opposed. In 2002, 72% favored
charter schools. charter schools and 28% opposed. Both
• Republicans and Independents are support and opposition show an increase because
more likely to favor charter schools the older survey also included “indifferent” and
than Democrats. Eighty-three percent “don’t know” as response choices, while the
of Republicans and 75% of later version did not. The percentage of
Independents favor charter schools respondents answering “indifferent” or “don’t
Geographic Locations of Michigan Residents Favoring Charter Schools
100%
80% 74% 78% 75% 70% 72% 73% 73% 75% 76%
64%
60%
40%
40%
20%
0%
Rural Small Town Urban Suburban Upper Peninsula wer Peninsula Southwest Southeast East Central Detroit West Central
Lo
Northern
know” in SOSS 13 was 13.9%. Democrats time being, Michigan legislators have decided
were less likely to favor charter schools than not to raise the cap on university-issued charters,
Republicans or Independents in both surveys, thereby limiting the expansion of charter
and people living in suburban areas were more schools.
likely to oppose charter schools than residents of The Survey
any other community type in both surveys. The 26th round of the State of the State
Survey (SOSS) was conducted by MSU's
Conclusion Institute for Public Policy and Social Research
Despite the strong public support for charter (IPPSR) from May 21 through July 16, 2002.
schools in Michigan, many questions regarding The quarterly survey is administered via
the efficiency, quality, and accountability of telephone by IPPSR's Office for Survey
charter schools remain unanswered. The Research. This round of the survey reached 933
question of how to strengthen accountability Michigan adults. The margin of sampling error
measures in charter schools, and whether to raise was – 3.2 percent. More information on SOSS is
the cap on the number of schools will certainly available at http://www.ippsr.msu.edu/SOSS.
be revisited by the new legislature. For the