Florida starting to question accountability of charter schools. Good.

[madfloridian]

First, the reason for charter schools bothers me. By definition they are not accountable for the use of public money.
SNIP......"They were created to let private groups and corporations get public money to run public schools free from many state and school district regulations."

This really rankles the school teacher in me. And the taxpayer in me. Add this to the vouchers going to private religious schools in our county still, though declared illegal by judges...and it is overboard.

Charter Schools Fail to Comply

TALLAHASSEE -- "Many of Florida's publicly supported charter schools are not being held accountable by the state's A+ plan or the federal government's No Child Left Behind, an audit released Monday said.

The charter school contracts and annual reports fail to include information required for the accountability sought by the Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush.

Student performance also varied, but was evaluated as "poor in one-third of charter schools," reported the Legislature's auditing arm, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.

"Charter schools' contracts generally do not establish clear academic performance expectations and often fail to include outcomes covering all grades served," the report said. "These weaknesses make it difficult for school boards and the general public to hold charter schools accountable."

Nearly half, 47 percent, of the schools during the 2003-04 school year were not held accountable by the A+ plan because they did not have the required minimum of 30 students taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, while about one of eight schools failed to be accountable under No Child Left Behind...."