Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, issued the following statement:
“Today, a broad coalition of 70 organizations from across the country sent a letter to Congressional leadership and respective members of Congress, urging they treat all public school students equally by restoring the education funding cut in the Charter School Program fund, and eliminating language that could especially harm public school students with special needs and low-income students who attend charter schools.”
Read the full letter below.
July 26, 2021
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell:
For the past 18 months, students across the country have had their learning disrupted, impacting every student differently, which is why Congress should not pass a budget that risks further disrupting learning by removing basic funding for public school students. The current House Appropriations budget for the fiscal year 2022 cuts education funding to more than 3.3 million students across the country who choose a public charter school to fulfill their learning needs – and each of those students is no less important than any other student.
It is for this reason that Congress must reject efforts to cut federal funding to public charter schools and treat all public school students equally. Moreover, Congress must reject efforts to financially punish special needs students and students living in poverty, simply because their families decided their children should attend a different public school.
The FY22 budget, approved by the House Appropriations Committee, cuts education funding at a time when students need more support, not less. The American Rescue Plan demonstrated significant support for education by providing states and school districts with access to $125 billion in new funding. Now, this House budget moves the country backward, removing $40 million from the federal Charter Schools Program, a vital source of support for these public schools.
Even more alarming, the House version of the FY22 budget includes a discriminatory clause in the bill that would prevent any federal funds from reaching any charter school “that contracts with a for-profit entity to operate, oversee or manage the activities of the school.”
This language, which is clearly politically motivated, simply penalizes all public school students. Separating out and dividing public school students—treating their funding differently based on the type of public school they choose and then punishing students who choose to attend one type over another—sends a message that the federal government doesn’t believe all public school students are equal.
Public charter schools overwhelmingly serve some of the nation’s poorest students, 68.7 percent of whom are students of color, an estimated 1.2 million students who are at or below federal poverty guidelines, plus another 300,000 students with special needs or a disability that qualifies under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under the proposed House FY22 Budget, these—our most vulnerable students–would be at risk of losing access to vital financial support. This is indefensible.
This agenda-driven budget prioritizes politics over people, and systems over students. We urge our members of Congress to reject this language, restore the federal funding to the Charter School Program fund and treat all public school students equally.
Keep in mind that public demand for education options is at an all-time high. Learning models that embrace innovation, flexibility and a robust suite of options are key factors for achieving a student-centered education system. It’s a formula that works. Just this year, a University of Arkansas study found that, “higher levels of education freedom are significantly associated with higher NAEP achievement levels and higher NAEP achievement gains.”
Where state and local governments support multiple school options, all students win. We see this in Arizona, where students are seeing higher-than-average gains on annual assessments. And we see this in New York City and Massachusetts, where Temple University and MIT have published studies that describe positive effects of public charter schools: The closer a public charter is located to a traditional public school, the better the learning gains for students.
Every student is deserving of an education that enables them to succeed, and that is why we believe the language in this House Appropriations approved budget bill is particularly harmful – by defunding charter schools it hurts all children.
We urge you to reject legislation that cuts and restricts funding to the public charter sector and disrupts the education of charter students nationwide.
Sincerely,
Foundation for Excellence in Education |
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools |
A for Arizona |
A+ Alabama |
Academica |
AFP – Florida |
AFP Iowa |
AFP-Pennsylvania |
Alaska Policy Forum |
Aligned |
American Federation for Children |
Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry |
Arizona Charter Schools Association |
Black Mother’s Forum |
Career Academy South Bend |
CarolinaCAN |
Center of the American Experiment |
Charter Schools USA |
Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri |
City of Hialeah Educational Academy |
Colorado League of Charter Schools |
Commonwealth Foundation |
Dayspring Academy |
Delaware Charter Schools Network |
DelawareCAN |
Doral Academy, Inc. |
Ed Allies |
Education Alliance of Colorado |
Education One at Trine University |
Empowered AZ Families |
Environmentalists for Effective Education |
Every Kid Counts Oklahoma |
First State Action Fund |
Florida Chamber of Commerce |
Florida Charter School Alliance |
Florida Council of 100 |
Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina |
Freedom Coalition for Charter Schools |
GEO Foundation |
Georgia Center for Opportunity |
Georgia Charter School Association |
GeorgiaCAN |
Great Lakes Education Project |
Great Leaders Strong Schools |
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce |
Harrisburg Families United |
Horizon Charter School |
IDEA Florida |
Illinois Policy Institute |
Indiana Charter School Network |
Institute for Quality Education |
Institute for Reforming Government |
International Studies Charter High School Inc. |
Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education |
Jacksonville Classical Academy |
John Locke Foundation |
Kids Community College |
KIPP Miami |
KIPP New Jersey |
Love Your School |
Mackinac Center for Public Policy |
Maine Charter School Commission |
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education |
Michigan Association of Public School Academies |
Michigan Chamber of Commerce |
Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers |
Mind Trust |
Missouri Charter Public School Association |
Missouri Education Reform Council |
Missouri Federation for Children |
Naples Classical Academy |
New Schools for Alabama |
North Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools |
North Carolina Coalition of Charter Schools |
North Carolina Family Policy Council |
North Carolinians for Home Education |
Oklahoma Public Charter School Association |
One Chance Illinois |
Oregon Coalition of Community Charter Schools |
Osprey Wilds |
Parents for Education Freedom in NC |
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry |
Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools |
Pepin Academies |
Pinecrest Academy Inc. |
Purdue Polytechnic |
Quality Schools Coalition |
Reaching Higher Iowa |
Reform Alliance |
Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce |
School Choice Ohio |
School Choice Wisconsin |
Somerset Academy, Inc. |
Terrace Community School |
Texas Conservative Coalition Research Center |
Texas Federation for Children |
Texas Public Charter Schools Association |
Texas Public Policy Foundation |
The LIBRE Initiative |
The RISE Schools |
Treasure Coast Classical Academy |
Utah Association of Public Charter Schools |
Western Pennsylvania Families for Education Choice |
Wisconsin Federation for Children |
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty |