Charter Schools Could Multiply if State Bill Passes

House bills H25 and H26, introduced by Rep. John Blust, R-Davidson, and Rep. Fern Shubert, R-Union, would remove the current 100 school limit on charter schools in the state. But at least one Democratic lawmaker has said the alternative schools have not shown enough positive results to warrant lifting the cap.

A bill passed several years ago capped the number of charter schools statewide -- allowing legislators to examine how the alternative schools worked. The state reached that cap last year.

"We have parents and teachers who want to provide different educational options for students," Shubert said.

The move is part of a nationwide effort by mainly Republicans to provide more educational options to students and their parents.

Shubert said an increase in the number of charter schools will enable more students with different learning styles to have a choice in their education. "Different people respond to different environments," Shubert said.

She boasts the "community intensive" focus of charter schools as one of their key attributes.

Charter schools operate outside state regulations, enabling educators to try alternative teaching styles.

While not sure how many schools would be created, Shubert said the bill would allow for "as many (schools) as we need to meet the needs of the students."

Charter schools receive a per-pupil allotment from the state but lack the capital provided to traditional public schools for building and other costs.

Orange Charter School Principal Chuck Nolan said deregulation and school size are the main benefits of charter schools. Charter schools allow for less bureaucracy, an aspect that appeals to Nolan and fellow proponents.

"I have a lot more responsibility but on a smaller scale," Nolan said.

Charter schools must adhere to the same standards as traditional public schools. All students are forced to take end-of-grade tests and other state accountability tests.

But Sen. Brad Miller, D-Wake, sees the current charter schools as experiments that need to be limited.

He said one of the ideas of charter schools is to determine if any regulations of traditional public schools are counterproductive. "The early indication is that they are low-performing," Miller added. "It's way too early to pronounce success and remove the cap."

Miller said he favors continued monitoring of the progress of charter schools. "I would be very surprised if we remove any cap from charter schools."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.