The Foundation for Excellence in Education and the Arizona Charter Schools Association issued the following statements:
“Today, a broad coalition of organizations sent a letter to Arizona’s Congressional delegation, urging they treat all public school students equally by restoring the education funding cut in the Charter School Program fund, and eliminate language that could especially harm public school students with special needs and low-income students who attend charter schools,” said Patricia Levesque, CEO for the Foundation for Excellence in Education.
“Arizona public charter schools serve over 21 percent of the public school students in our state,” said Jake Logan, President and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association. “It’s imperative that Congress reject efforts that could disrupt these students’ education – especially those with special needs or living in poverty – simply because their families decided they should attend a different public school that best meets their learning needs.”
Read the full letter below.
Dear Members of the Arizona Delegation:
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 – 213,000 of whom are Arizonans – 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 educate 19 percent of Arizona’s public school students. They also overwhelmingly serve some of the state’s poorest students, 59 percent of whom are students of color and an estimated 133,000 students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. 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 assessment. 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
Arizona Charter Schools Association
Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Black Mother’s Forum
Empowered AZ Families
Great Leaders Strong Schools
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
Love Your School
