What Happened?

Yesterday Illinois House Bill 768 (HB 768) passed out of the Senate Executive Committee by a vote of 11-4-1. The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association is actively supporting this bill.  If passed into law HB 768 would remove provisions allowing the State Charter School Commission to reverse a school board's decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter. HB 768 also removes the ability of charters to appeal a local school board's decision to reject the charters application.

Why is this Important?

As you may know a recent Roosevelt University report concluded that the unchecked expansion of charter schools is a major cause of Chicago Public Schools' financial crisis. The ability of the State Charter Commission to reverse a local school board's rejection of a charter school only adds to this crisis at the state level.  HB 768 will end this practice.

Moving Forward

Part of managing education dollars responsibly includes building new schools only when there is sufficient new enrollment to justify the expense. We still have a long way to go in this regard.  Although this bill prevents the State Charter Commission from overturning a district's decision toreject a charter, it does not prevent the district from approving yet another unnecessary new charter school proposal.

Still, our small victories can add up if we keep the pressure on. Stay tuned for more on this important development.

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