SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Legislation making its way through the Illinois General Assembly could effectively put an end to the appeals process for proposed charter schools that are rejected by local school boards.

Illinois, like many states, requires charter school operators to gain approval from local school boards in the districts where they hope to open a school. Many local school boards view charter schools as competition for students and state funding, and routinely reject applications.

The obvious conflict of interest has led to the creation of special state boards to hear appeals from charter schools rejected by local school boards, and most have the authority to overrule local boards if it’s in the best interests of students.

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Illinois lawmakers created the state’s Charter School Commission in 2011 to handle charter school appeals previously reviewed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). But amid growing animosity toward charter schools in Illinois, driven in large part by the radical Chicago Teachers Union and others, union-loyal state lawmakers are working to pull the rug out from under the charter school appeals process.

Illinois House Bill 3754, introduced by Aurora Democrat Linda Chapa LaVia, was approved by the full House in a veto-proof 78-33 vote March 20. The bill, which has since been introduced in the Senate, would dissolve the charter school commission and transfer responsibilities for hearing charter appeals cases back to the ISBE, which has stated publicly it can only devote one part-time employee to the task.

The state board of education opposes HB 3754 because it struggled to handle appeals cases before the commission took over in 2011, and it has even fewer resources now than it did then.

“ … (F)our years later, ISBE’s budget and staffing problems are even worse,” according to a Chicago Sun-Times editorial. “Why settle that agency with another task it can’t effectively manage?”

The answer seems obvious, but Illinois Policy Institute’s Joshua Dwyer put it succinctly: “In essence, if you get rid of the charter commission, you get rid of charter appeals.”

“What it does is make it a lot harder to start a charter school outside (Chicago),” he said.

And that would be a dream come true for teachers union and local education officials who would prefer to limit school choice to government schools only.

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Campaign against charters

The impetus for the charter commission repeal stems from an extensive campaign against charter schools led by the Chicago Teachers Union and other unions across the state in recent years.

Charter schools have been a great scapegoat for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), in particular, providing a convenient excuse for dismal academic performance in the city’s public schools. CTU officials want the public to believe that charters schools siphon public funding away from traditional public schools, which in turn inhibits the ability of unionized school teachers to do their jobs effectively.

CTU officials have blamed school closings, budget shortfalls, and virtually anything else they can think of on the growing popularity of Illinois charter schools. Yet despite the attacks, enrollment in charter schools – which are mostly in Chicago – increased  drastically from 6,152 students in 2000 to 59,925 this year, the Chicago Tribune pointed out in a recent editorial.

“The rhetoric against charter school expansion is so strong in some quarters, you’d think they were crack houses or strip clubs angling to come in and pollute a neighborhood,” according to the Tribune.

Ironically, as CTU officials have badmouthed charters, they’ve also worked to unionize them. Teachers with United Neighborhood Organization’s 16 Chicago charter schools voted to join the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, the CTU’s parent union.

AFT President Rhonda Weingarten explained the union’s duplicity to Catalyst Chicago:

“This is not about charters vs. non charters. There’s room in the city for lots of different school designs, as long as they’re public schools,” she said. “Parents want good neighborhood public schools …

“Schools that help engage kids in terms of arts, music and have the services they need like guidance services and nursing services. They don’t want schools to be shuttered,” Weingarten said.

Despite the double talk, labor unions and the state’s education establishment have worked hard to demonize all school choice options outside of unionized government-run schools. The animosity came to a boil when a virtual charter school applied to operate across 18 Illinois school districts and was turned down by all 18 local school boards.

The virtual school appealed the decision to the Charter School Commission, which raised a lot of controversy and criticism against commissioners, but in the end the virtual school pulled its applications before the commission reviewed its case.

Even so, the episode fueled allegations of inappropriate relationships between commissioners and charter proponents.

“Some legislators believe the commission is playing fast and loose with appeals, approving low-quality charter schools because they receive grants from pro-charter school foundations and can assess a 3 percent fee from every charter school they approve,” according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

“The facts, however, don’t back this up.”

The commission has approved only two appeals applications out of a total of 38 over the last two years. Between 1996 and 2010, the years in which the ISBE heard appeals, even fewer were approved.

“Since 1996, when charter schools were first permitted in Illinois, approximately 42 denials by local school boards have been appealed to the State Board, and the state board has reversed two,” according to a 2010 report by an Independent Charter School Authorizer Task Force.

“We believe the commission has done a good work and has fulfilled its statutory mandates,” ISBE spokeswoman Mary Fergus told the Chicago Tribune. “It should be allowed to continue … operating as it was intended.”

Political momentum

Despite the facts, the virtual school issue has given charter opponents the political momentum they need in Springfield.

“They’re just trying to lump all school choice into one bucket,” Dwyer said. “There’s a lot of animus against charter schools in the legislature right now.”

That was evident at a recent House Elementary and Secondary Education meeting where 34 witnesses testified in favor of abolishing the charter commission, and only three testified in favor of saving it, according to Substance News.

That testimony helped move the legislation to the full House, and build the momentum for it to pass with overwhelming bi-partisan support. The measure is expected to move to the state Senate education committee, where some lawmakers have supported charter schools in the past. But as Dwyer noted, “a lot of the representatives (who voted in favor of abolishing the commission) have supported charter schools, as well.”

“Even the woman who spearheaded the bill (Chapa La Via) – she voted for the creation of the commission two years ago,” he said.

The unpredictable political climate surrounding Illinois charters may make it difficult to determine how lawmakers might ultimately vote on the bill. And if enough vote in favor, Dwyer said, the legislation could become a reality with or without the governor’s signature.

But what is for certain is if lawmakers abolish the charter commission, Illinois students and parents will likely have less access to high-quality education options.

That reality has prompted the Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times and other media outlets to urge Illinois Senators to slow down and consider the value of the commission, as well as other suggestions to give parents more school choice – not less.

“The commission provides a robust second pathway for charter school authorization. When it functions well, local officials guarding the status quo can’t summarily deny students fresh options for a good education,” the Tribune opined.

“But why stop at two paths? Instead of deep-sixing the commission, legislators, how about creating a third or even a fourth path for charter approval? Other states allow universities and municipal governments to authorize charters, with solid results.

“Let’s hear more ideas on how to improve the commission, not end it. Illinois can be – should be – a national laboratory for charter excellence. That’s the way to bring the best schools here for students.”