Email Senator Rowden to Oppose Charter Schools!

ACTION ALERT: CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANSION BILL

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee met on February 9, but postponed the vote on HB 634 (Roeber). The bill would allow charter schools to operate in any district in the state. The bill was heard last week in House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. The sponsor distributed a HCS version at the meeting. The HCS would limit the expansion to St. Louis and Jackson County and allow charter school open enrollment in those counties.  

The Association believes the charter school law must be transformed to ensure that charter schools function as team players in a single public school system, not as individual, privately-run schools that divert public funds without accountability to or control by local communities. However, the Speaker's office is pressuring the Committee to vote to approve the bill with only expansion and without the necessary reforms. If approved by the committee, the bill could be taken up by quickly by the House.

The Association opposes expansion of charter schools until such time as the law is revised to ensure that all charter schools are required to meet the standards of accountability, transparency and respect for the rights of students, parents and staff as are applicable to traditional public schools.

ACTION NEEDED: PLEASE CALL, WRITE OR USE THE LINK BELOW TO SEND AN E-MAIL TO URGE YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE TO OPPOSE HB 634.

Email Senator Rowden now: http://www.senate.mo.gov/D19WebApps/Contact.aspx