GOP governors sent a letter to the secretary of education asking him to extend the rule-change public comment period, which is set to end Monday.
A group of 18 Republican governors sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Monday to voice their opposition to a new proposal that would make it more difficult for charter schools to obtain federal funding.
The governors, led by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, are asking the Biden administration to reconsider the proposed mandate and allow public comment on the issue to remain open beyond the final day for comments, which comes just over 30 days after the proposal was published.
“The Administration seeks to impose a new standard that will require charters to demonstrate that the relevant school district is ‘over-enrolled,’” the group writes. “By focusing on the number of seats, rather than the number of ‘high-quality’ seats, the new standard fails to consider that a driving force in a parent’s decision is the desire for their child to attend a school that meets their child’s unique needs.”
The governors argue that “it is a certainty that the expansion of such burdensome regulations will make it more difficult — if not impossible — for independent and smaller charter schools to access federal funds.”
Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run entities. The new requirements would make it more difficult for nonprofit operators to qualify for the U.S. Department of Education Charter School Program.
New charter schools applying for funding would be required to submit a community impact analysis demonstrating a “sufficient demand” for a new school and that the school would meet the needs of students and families in the community, according to the Washington Post. The start-up charter schools would also have to outline how they plan to create racially and socioeconomically diverse student and staff populations. However, if creating a diverse population is not possible due to community demographics, the applications could still be funded.
In order to demonstrate “unmet demand,” applicants must cite data about over-enrolled existing public schools at a time when enrollments are falling in many areas in the U.S.
The governors argue that while the administration has “claimed to prioritize the concept of equity” that the proposed rule would “only exacerbate inequities in our education system by reducing federal support high-quality choices available to millions of low-income families.”
The letter adds that in one of the governor’s states alone, 60 percent of the student population at charter schools is economically disadvantaged and more than 90 percent of those students belong to racial and ethnic minority groups.
“Across the nation, charter schools enroll more students of color and more economically disadvantaged students than their traditional public school counterparts,” the governors add. “The requirements imposed in the proposed rule will put the Department in a position to undermine the decision made by millions of families seeking a better opportunity for their child.”
The group adds that after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, American children “are in greater need than ever.”
“National school closures led to significant learning loss, a decline in college enrollment, and a rapid rise in mental health challenges experienced by students,” the statement adds. “During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more—rather than fewer—parents sought to enroll their children in high-performing public charter schools. “
As such the group is calling on the Biden administration to extend the “unprecedentedly short comment period to reflect the magnitude of changes proposed and solicit meaningful public comment.” The governors argue that for the rules to take effect as written, the Department would have little time to consider comments before awarding funding to state entities this fiscal year.
The letter says “such a narrow window raises alarm and poses to disrupt the delivery of education to students in our respective states,” adding that the traditional comment period for rulemaking is at least 60 days.
The group is also calling on the administration to remove all provisions that limit local control and request that it delay any changes to the program to the next fiscal year so that the current program can be administered under rules that are “long-standing and well understood by applicants.”
The joint comment was sent by Lee and Governors Kay Ivey of Alabama, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Doug Ducey of Arizona, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Greg Abbott of Texas.