ERIC ED535440: Federally Funded Charter Schools Should Foster Diversity. Issue Brief No. 2

2012·0.12 MB·English

by  ERIC

The National Coalition on School Diversity
Federally Funded Charter Schools
Issue2
Should Foster Diversity
Brief
TheAdministration’s“BlueprintForRe- schoolsoroperatorsareconsidered“effective”2or
form,”andFY2011budgetproposalsetforth of“high-quality,”3 forthepurposeoffederally
aneducationagendathatwouldmaketheex- fundedreplicationorexpansion.
pansionofcharterschoolsacornerstoneofthe
ThereauthorizedESEAshouldensurethat
reauthorizedElementaryandSecondaryEdu-
federallyfundedchartersdonotcontributeto
cationAct(ESEA).Likewise,HR4330would
increasingsocio-economicandracialisolation:
promotecharterschoolsasacentralcatalystfor
Justasresearchdemonstratesthebenefitsofdiver-
educationreform.Withoutclearerguidelines, sity,italsodemonstratestheharmofracialisola-
charterschoolexpansioncouldexacerbate tionandconcentrationofpoverty.4Unfortunately
racialandsocio-economicisolation,andwould ournation’sschoolsarebecomingincreasingly
raciallyandsocio-economicallyisolated,equivalent
alsomissanopportunitytopromotediversity.
tolevelsofsegregationwitnessedinthelate
ThefollowingrecommendationsurgeCongress
1960’s.5Charterschoolsarecurrentlyaddingto
topairfederalsupportforcharterschoolex-
thisracialandsocioeconomicisolation,aswellas
pansionwithincentivesthatwouldcreateand
increasedisolationofEnglishlearnersandstudents
sustainracially,economicallyandlinguistically withdisabilities.6Especiallyproblematicisthe
diversecharterschools;safeguardstoensure extremeisolationofAfricanAmericansincharters,
thatthecivilrightsofallchildrenarepro- whichisoccurringatamuchhigherratethanin
regularpublicschools.7Federalpolicysupporting
tected;andfundingincreasesthatwouldpro-
charterschoolexpansionshouldcontainexplicit
videfortheexpansionorreplicationof
safeguardstopreventracialandsocio-economic
effective,diversemagnetschoolmodels.
isolationfromintensifying.8Thesesafeguards
shouldincluderestrictionsagainstnewcharter
TheESEAshouldaddincentivesfordiversity schoolsthatlackfreetransportationorfederal
infederallyfundedcharterschools:Neitherthe lunchsupport,astheirabsenceisassociatedwith
Administration’s“Blueprint”norHR4330contain whiteflightfromdiversepublicschools.9Theleg-
languagepromotingdiversityincharterschools. islativeproposalsbeforeCongresscurrentlylack
Yet,raciallydiverseeducationalsettingsare suchsafeguards.
stronglyassociatedwithacademicandsocialbene-
fitsforstudentsofallracialgroups.1Racialand Wherefederallawencouragescharterschool
economicdiversityfurtherstheESEA’scentralpur- creationitshouldalsoprovideincentivesto
poseofhelpingstudentsreachproficiency,andcol- locatenewschoolsstrategicallytocounter
legeandcareerreadiness–andallstudentsneedto growingracialandsocio-economicisolation:
learntoworkeffectivelyacrossracialandethnic Ifnewcharterswerelocatedtoofferopportunities
linesforthefuturehealthofourshareddemocracy acrosstraditionaldistrictboundaries10andwith
andourincreasinglymultiracialnation.Therefore, federalsupportforcross-districttransportationand
whetheracharterschoolprovidesadiverseeduca- outreachtoadiversestudentbody(including
tionalenvironmentshouldbeincludedamongthe EnglishLearnersandstudentswithdisabilities),
evaluationcriteriaindeterminingwhichcharter charterschoolscouldhelpreduceracialandsocio-
Issue Brief No. 2 National Coalition on School Diversity
economicisolation.11Anynewfederallawshould haveahistoryofservingdisproportionatelylow
addincentivestositecharterschoolsthatservetwo numbersofELsorstudentswithdisabilities,fed-
ormoredistrictsandtoencouragetheadoptionof erallawshouldensurethatthereisrobustoutreach
diversitygoalssimilartothoserequiredoffederally totheseunderservedpopulations.Towardthisend,
fundedmagnetschools.12 thereauthorizedActshouldaddfundingfor
improvingsuchoutreach,withallinformationpro-
TheESEAshouldensurethatacharterschool videdinthemajorhomelanguagesspokeninthe
isnottheonlyoptionofferedtostudents districtsserved.17Moreover,theESEAneedsto
attendingafailingschool.Undercurrentlaw,a addsafeguardstoensurethatfederallyfundedchar-
transferoptionissupposedtobeprovided(with terschoolsenrollELsandstudentswithdisabilities
freetransportation)tostudentsattendingschools innumbersroughlyproportionatetothenumbers
thatpersistentlyfailtomakeAYP.13However,the foundinthepublicschooldistrictordistrict(s)
Administration'sBlueprintmakesnoexplicitrefer- served.
encetoeitherstudents'transferrightsortheneces-
saryfundingfortransportation.14Withoutaviable Onlycharterschoolsthatprovideaccurateand
transferoption,acharter"restart"mightbethe comprehensivedatatothepublicshouldbe
onlychoiceofferedtostudentsinafailingschool. consideredforreplication:Onceperformanceis
Providingonlyoneoptionwouldunderminethe adjustedbyrace,class,disabilitystatusandELsta-
principleofchoiceessentialtotheroleofcharters tus,chartershavehadmixedresults.18Similarly,
asinstrumentsofreform.Toprovidetruechoices, adjustmentsforschoolattritionareveryimportant
thereauthorizedActshouldretainESEA’stransfer inanyqualityanalysisofschoolperformance,
opportunitiesforstudentsinfailingschools,and becausestudentswholeaveachoiceschoolmaybe
includemorediverseeducationalsettingsamong verydifferentthanthosewhostay.19Recentstudies
transferoptionswherefeasible.Toensurethevia- suggestingsomebenefitsassociatedwithcharter
bilityofsuchchoices,transportationshouldbepro- schoolswereunabletoaccountforthepotential
videdwithadditionalfederalfunds,charterschools impactofschoolattrition.20Wherereplicationof
mustpermitstudentsfrommorethanonedistrict effectivechartersisthegoal,weneedmorecom-
toenroll,charter“restarts”shouldnotadopt prehensiveandaccurateinformationtodistinguish
enrollmentpoliciesthatreplicatepre-existinghigh trulyeffectivechartersfromthosethataddnoben-
concentrationsofpovertybylimitingadmissionsto efitswhenpovertyandotherfactorsaretakeninto
neighborhoodresidents. Mostimportantly,federal account.Moreover,additionalsafeguardsare
policyshouldincentivizeandrewardvoluntary neededtoaddressthiskeyincentiveproblem—to
“inter-districtcooperativeagreements”thatexplic- preventschoolsthattransferoutlow-scoringstu-
itlyseektoreduceracialandsocio-economicisola- dentsfromgainingacompetitiveedgeoverschools
tion(including,butnotlimitedto,agreementsthat thatretainsuchstudentsorreceivetransfersoflow
ariseoutofaccountabilityrequirementsand scoringstudentsfromotherschools.Specifically,
involvecharterschools).15 federallawshouldnotconsiderforreplication
thosecharterschoolsoroperatorswithhighrates
Federallyfundedcharterschoolsshouldbe ofstudentattritionordisciplinaryremoval.
expectedtoserveroughlyproportionatenum- Moreover,theESEAshouldrequireallpublic
bersofEnglishLearners(ELs),andstudents charterschoolstobemonitoredonattritionand
withdisabilities.Newresearchoncharterschools disciplineratesandotherfactorstoprotectthecivil
showsahighfrequencyofunderrepresentationof rightsofstudents.
bothgroups.16Indistrictswherecharterschools
2
National Coalition on School Diversity Issue Brief No. 2
Annualoversightandaccountabilityareneeded President’sproposedbudgetand“Blueprint”call
toensurethatfederallysupportedcharter fordramaticincreasesinfundingforcharter
schoolsmeetcivilrightsrequirements: schools,similarlyeffectivemagnetschoolswould
SecretaryDuncanrecentlyannouncedthatthere onlyreceiveasmallincrease.24Yetmanymagnet
willbegreaterattentiontodisparateimpactin schoolshaveveryexplicitrequirementsthatensure
DOEoversight,andthatnewguidanceforstates theypromotediversity.25Byincreasingitssupport
anddistrictswillbeissuedregardingnon-compli- ofmagnetschoolsCongresswouldfosteraddi-
ancewithTitleVI,TitleIXandSection504.21 tional“proveneffective”choiceopportunitiesand
Towardthesegoals,weurgetheCongresstodirect promotegreaterdiversity.
theadministrationtopromulgateanddisseminate
civilrightsguidancetostatesanddistrictsonchar-
terschoolssimilartotheOCRguidancethatwas
archivedbythepreviousadministration.22
TheNationalCoalitiononSchoolDiversityisa
networkofnationalcivilrightsorganizations,
Federalfundingforcharterschoolsshouldbe
university-basedresearchinstitutes,localeducational
extendedtoincludemagnetschools:Thecur-
advocacygroups,andacademicresearchersseekinga
rentlawpertainingtomagnetsgivesprioritytodis-
greatercommitmenttoracialandeconomicdiversity
trictsthatspecifyhowmagnetschoolswillreduce
infederalK-12educationpolicyandfunding.
racialisolation,andtomagnetschoolsthathave
beeneffective.23Unfortunately,whilethe
3
Issue Brief No. 2 National Coalition on School Diversity
Endnotes ofSchoolDesegregation(Princeton,N.J.:Princeton
Univ.Press,2004).
1 Foranoverviewoftheresearchliterature,seeRosyln
6 Miron,G.,Urschel,J.L.,Mathis,W,J.,&Tornquist,
Mickelson,Twenty-firstCenturySocialScienceonSchool
E.(2010).SchoolswithoutDiversity:Education
RacialDiversityandEducationalOutcomes,69OhioSt.
ManagementOrganizations,CharterSchoolsandthe
L.J.1173(2008).
DemographicStratificationoftheAmericanSchoolSystem.
2 SeeU.S.DepartmentofEducation,ABlueprintFor BoulderandTempe:EducationandthePublicInterest
Reform:TheReauthorizationoftheElementaryand Center&EducationPolicyResearchUnit.Retrieved
SecondaryEducationAct,p.37(March2010) March19,2010fromhttp://epicpolicy.org/publica-
[Hereinafter“Blueprint”]. tion/schools-without-diversity;seealsoE.
3 Seee.g.,H.R.4330Section2. Frankenberg,G.Siegel-Hawley,&J.Wang,Choice
WithoutEquity:CharterSchoolSegregationandtheNeed
4 R.Balfanz&N.Legters,“LocatingtheDropout
forCivilRightsStandards(LosAngeles:CivilRights
Crisis:WhichHighSchoolsProducetheNation’s
Project/ProyectoDerechosCiviles,February,2010).
Dropouts?”inDropoutsinAmerica:Confrontingthe
GraduationRateCrisis,ed.GaryOrfield(Cambridge, 7 Finnegan,K.,Adelman,N.,Anderson,L.,Cotton,L.,
Mass.:HarvardEducationPress,2004):85-106;K. Donnelly,M.B.,&Price,T.(2004).Evaluationof
Borman,etal.,“AccountabilityinaPostdesegregation CharterSchoolsProgram:2004FinalReport.U.S.
Era:TheContinuingSignificanceofRacial DepartmentofEducation.PolicyandProgramsStudy
SegregationinFlorida’sSchools,”American Service.Retrieved10/28/09athttp://www.eric.ed.gov/
EducationalResearchJournal,41,no.3(2004):605- ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/000
31;DouglasMassey,CamilleCharles&Gniesha 0019b/80/29/d8/04.pdf;E.Frankenberg,G.Siegel-
Dinwiddie,TheContinuingConsequencesof Hawley,&J.Wang,ChoiceWithoutEquity:Charter
Segregation:FamilyStressandCollegeAcademic SchoolSegregationandtheNeedforCivilRightsStandards
Achievement,86Soc.Sci.Q.509(2007);DouglasN. (LosAngeles:CivilRightsProject/ProyectoDerechos
Harris,HowDoSchoolPeersInfluenceStudent Civiles,February,2010).
EducationalOutcomes?,112Tchrs.C.Rec.__(forth- 8 Theprovisionofthesesafeguardswassanctionedby
coming2010).ArgunSaatcioglu,Disentangling thecontrollingopinioninPICS,whichfounddiversity
SchoolandStudent-LevelEffectsofDesegregation tobeacompellingeducationalinterest.OpinionofJ.
andResegregationontheDropoutProbleminUrban Kennedy,inParentsInvolvedinCmty.Sch.v.SeattleSch.
HighSchools:EvidencefromtheClevelandMunicipal Dist.No.1,551U.S.701(U.S.2007):p.101.
SchoolDistrict,1977-1998,112Tchrs.C.Rec.(forth-
9 E.Frankenberg,G.Siegel-Hawley,&J.Wang,Choice
coming2010).Seealso,U.S.CivilRights
WithoutEquity:CharterSchoolSegregationandtheNeed
Commission,RacialIsolationinthePublicSchoolsofthe
forCivilRightsStandards(LosAngeles:CivilRights
NorthandWest,(Washington,DC,1967);Douglas
Project/ProyectoDerechosCiviles,February,2010).
Harris,“LostLearning,ForgottenPromises:A
NationalAnalysisofSchoolRacialSegregation, 10 Forexample,onestudyfoundthatwhencharter
StudentAchievementand“ControlledChoice”Plans,” schoolsdrewfromoutsidetheirlocaldistricttheywere
(WashingtonDC:CenterForAmericanProgress, morepromisingintermsofprovidingraciallyinte-
2006);MarkBerends&RobertoPenaloza,Increasing gratedschoolsincomparisontotraditionalpublic
RacialIsolationandTestScoreGapsinMathematics: schools.Ni,Y.(2007).AreCharterSchoolsMoreRacially
A30-YearPerspective,112TeachersCollegeRecord_ SegregatedThanTraditionalPublicSchools?East
(forthcoming2010). Lansing:MichiganStateUniversity,EducationPolicy
Center,PolicyReport30.
5 Approximately40percentofBlackandLatinostudents
attendedschoolsthatwere90-100percentminorityin 11 AstudyinArizonafound,forexample,thatacharter
2006-07whilewhitesremainedthemostisolatedfrom schoolenrolledstudentsfrommorethan20different
studentsofanyracialgroup,andlessthanoneinfour publicschooldistricts.M.Gifford,M.Ogle,&L.
studentsinthetypicalwhitestudents’schoolisof Solomon,WhoisChoosingCharterSchools?ASnapshotof
anotherrace.SeeG.Orfield,RevivingtheGoalofan GeographyandEthnicityofCharterSchoolStudents
IntegratedSociety:A21stCenturyChallenge(Los (CenterforMarket-basedEducation,2009);E.
Angeles:CivilRightsProject/ProyectoDerechos Frankenberg&G.Siegel-Hawley,EquityOverlooked:
Civiles,UCLA:,January2009)(Table7).SeealsoG. CharterSchoolsandCivilRightsPolicy(LosAngeles:
Orfield&E.Frankenberg,TheLastHaveBecomeFirst: CivilRightsProject/ProyectoDerechosCiviles,
RuralandSmallTownAmericaLeadtheWayon 2009);S.Eaton&G.Chirichigo,“ChartersMust
Desegregation(LosAngeles:CivilRights CommittoDiversity,”BostonGlobe,19July2009.
Project/ProyectoDerechosCiviles,January,2008); 12 IntheESEA,federallysupportedmagnetschools,for
CharlesT.Clotfelter,AfterBrown:TheRiseandRetreat example,arerequiredtohaveexplicitgoalsofincreas-
4
National Coalition on School Diversity Issue Brief No. 2
ingdiversity.Charterschoolsthatadopttheseorsimi- charterschoolstoattractmoreELstudents.This
largoalsshouldbegivenacompetitiveadvantagewhen wouldbringtheschoolsincloseralignmentwiththe
applyingforlimitedfederalcharterschoolgrants. percentageofELstudentsservedbythedistrictwhich
isnearly20%comparedtolessthan4%inallbutone
13 Accordingtoa2004reportbytheCitizens'
ofthecharterschools.SeeJamesVaznis,“Charter
CommissiononCivilRights,thetransferopportunity
SchoolsStartRecruitingDrive”,TheBostonGlobe
"resultedindesegregationbyrace/ethnicityand
(January30,2010)availableat:http//www.boston.com/
income"inatleastfivedistrictsinAlabamaandatleast
news/education/k_12/articles/2010/01/30/charter_
threedistrictsinSouthCarolina.CynthiaG.Brown,
schools_start_recruiting_drive/
ChoosingBetterSchools:AReportonStudentTransfers
UndertheNoChildLeftBehindAct,at8.,Picheand 18 CenterforResearchonEducationalOutcomes.
TaylorEds.,Citizens'CommissiononCivilRights “MultipleChoice:CharterSchoolPerformancein
(2004).However,althoughthenumberoftransfers SixteenStates”(Stanford:CREDO).Retrieved
wererising,"thereweresignificantlygreatertransfer 11/2/09athttp://credo.stanford.edu/reports/MULTI-
requeststhanactualtransfers...."Idat6.Thereport PLE_CHOICE_CREDO.pdf;R.Zimmer,tal.,
alsoconcludedthatfreetransportationwascriticalto CharterSchoolsinEightStates:EffectsonAchievement,
successfulimplementation.Idat59. Attainment,Integration,andCompetition.(Santa
Monica,CA:RandCorporation,2009);THOMAS
14 TheBlueprintdescribesa“RestartModel”thatwould
KANE,ETAL.,INFORMINGTHEDEBATE.
reopenafailingschool“underthemanagementofan
COMPARINGBOSTON'SCHARTER,PILOT
“effectivecharteroperator….”Blueprint,supranote2
ANDTRADITIONALSCHOOLS(2009),available
atp.12.HR4330referencestheextantaccountability
athttp://www.gse.harvard.edu/~pfpie/pdf/Informing
provisionsoftheESEAthatincludere-openinga
TheDebate_Final.pdf.ThomasKanerespondedtothe
schoolsasacharterasoneofseveralchoicesof“alter-
useofthisreporttosupportbroadcharterschool
nativegovernance”thatmustbeimplementedwhena
expansion,commentingthat“Ourreportdidnotoffer
schoolpersistentlyfailstomakeAYP.20U.S.C.
ablanketendorsementofcharterschools.Indeed,our
Section6316(b)(8).
failuretofindrobusteffectsofthepilotschools(partic-
15 HR4330specificallyproposesfederalfundingprefer- ularlyinmiddleschoolgrades)shouldbeawarning
encesforcharterschoolsthatarepartofextantinter- thatadditionalflexibilityforschoolsdoesnotensure
districtcooperativeagreements.SeeHR4330Section resultsforkids.”ThomasKane,HarvardGraduate
5,Part4(L).Theseagreements,however,areonly SchoolofEducation,ProfessorKaneCommentsonMayor
usedwhenaccountabilitytriggersgivestudentsfrom Menino'sCharterSchoolInitiative,http://www.gse.
failingschoolstransferopportunitiestoattendschools harvard.edu/blog/news_features_releases/2009/06/
makingAYP,butwheretherearenosuchschools professor-kane-comments-on-mayormeninos-
withinadistrict.See20U.S.C.6316(b)(11).The charter-school-initiative.html.INSTITUTEON
BlueprintForReformislessspecific,butcallsfor RACEANDPOVERTY,FAILEDPROMISES:
greatersupportforinterandintra-districtchoice ASSESSINGCHARTERSCHOOLSINTHE
options.Blueprint,supranote2atp.38.Thesepro- TWINCITIES(2008),availableathttp://www.
posalsshouldbestrengthenedinthereauthorized irpumn.org/uls/resources/projects/2_Charter_Report_
ESEAtogiveincentivestoanyinterdistrictcoopera- Final.pdf.Minnesotaisthestatewiththelongest
tiveagreementsthatexplicitlypromotediversityorare historyofcharterschools.TheIRPanalysisfinds:
designedtoreduceracialandsocio-economicisolation. “Despitenearlytwodecadesofexperience,charter
16 Miron,G.,Urschel,J.L.,Mathis,W,J.,&Tornquist, schoolsinMinnesotastillperformworseonaverage
E.(2010).SchoolswithoutDiversity:Education thancomparabletraditionalpublicschools.Althougha
ManagementOrganizations,CharterSchoolsandthe fewcharterschoolsperformwell,mostofferlow
DemographicStratificationoftheAmericanSchoolSystem. incomeparentsandparentsofcoloraninferior
BoulderandTempe:EducationandthePublicInterest choice—achoicebetweenlow-performingtraditional
Center&EducationPolicyResearchUnit.Retrieved publicschoolsandcharterschoolsthatperformeven
March19,2010fromhttp://epicpolicy.org/publica- worse.”Id.at1.Thereportgoesontostatethat“char-
tion/schools-without-diversity;Welner,K.G.,&Howe, terschoolshaveintensifiedracialandeconomicsegre-
K.R.(2005).Steeringtowardseparation:Theevidence gationin[MinneapolisandSt.Paulschools].”Id.
andimplicationsofspecialeducationstudents'exclu- Similarly,Carnoy,Jacobsen,MishelandRothstein
sionfromchoiceschools.InJ.Scott(Ed.),Schoolchoice foundthatinFlorida,Michigan,Texasand
anddiversity(pp.93-111).NewYork:TeachersCollege Pennsylvania,testscoresincharterschoolsthathad
Press. beenoperatingformorethanthreeyearsdidnobetter
thanpublicschoolsdid.InMichigan,threestudies
17 InBoston,forexample,theBostonGlobereportsa
foundlowertestscorelevelsinchartersthaninsimilar
majornewoutreachcampaigntorecruitimmigrant
publicschools.MARTINCARNOYETAL.,supra
familiestoBostonschoolsbyacoalitionofthecity’s14
5
Issue Brief No. 2 National Coalition on School Diversity
note1,at43.InNorthCarolina,astudyofstudents rectdiscrimination”referredtounintended“disparate
whohadattendedbothchartersandpublicschools impact”fromotherwiseneutralpoliciesandpractices.
demonstratedthatthestudentsdidfarlesswellin
22 SeeU.S.DepartmentofEducation,ApplyingFederal
charterschools.Id.at44.
CivilRightsLawstoPublicCharterSchools,(Archived
19 Henig,J.(2008).Whatdoweknowabouttheoutcomesof Information)Retrieved3/23/2010athttp://www2.ed.
KIPPschools?BoulderandTempe:Educationandthe gov/offices/OCR/archives/charterqa/charadmin.html.
PublicInterestCenter&EducationPolicyResearch
23 Untilthislatestfundingcycle,overtheyears,however,
Unit.RetrievedMarch19,2010fromhttp://epicpolicy
MSAPfundingprioritieshadbecomesovariedthat
.org/publication/outcomes-of-kipp-schools;
theemphasisoneliminatingracialisolationhadgradu-
MulticulturalEducation,TrainingandAdvocacy
allylessened.E.Frankenberg&C.Q.Le,“ThePost-
(META).CharterSchoolsandEnglishLanguage
Seattle/LouisvilleChallenge:Extra-LegalObstaclesto
LearnersinMassachusetts:PolicyPushwithoutthe
Integration,”OhioStateLawJournal,vol.69no.5
Data(2009).Retrieved11.2.09athttp://www.edweek.
(2008):1015-1072.
org/media/metacharterschoolbrief.pdf
24 E.Frankenberg&G.Siegel-Hawley,TheForgotten
20 MulticulturalEducation,TrainingandAdvocacy
Choice:RethinkingMagnetSchoolsinaChanging
(META).CharterSchoolsandEnglishLanguage
Landscape(LosAngeles:CivilRightsProject/Proyecto
LearnersinMassachusetts:PolicyPushwithoutthe
DerechosCiviles,2008);
Data(2009).Retrieved11.2.09athttp://www.edweek.
25 Id.
org/media/metacharterschoolbrief.pdf
21 IntestimonybeforeCongress,onMarch17,2010.In
histestimony,SecretaryDuncanexplainedthat“indi-
6
National Coalition on School Diversity Issue Brief No. 2
7
FormoreinformationontheNationalCoalitiononSchoolDiversity,goto
www.school-diversity.org