FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jared Burkhart, 517-403-8533
Nov. 30, 2017
The following is a public statement from Jared Burkhart, Executive Director of the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers regarding the unveiling of a new package of bills directed at the state’s charter public education sector.
“Today’s bill introductions reveal two very troubling issues: a willingness to make the learning of Michigan schoolchildren a wholly partisan issue, and a general ignorance of current education law.
“Using our state’s public K–12 system for political gain is an unconscionable act. It objectifies students, families, and educators and assaults their personal freedom to choose their own schools. At a time when business and education leaders recognize it’s ‘all hands on deck’ to build the talent pipeline Michigan urgently needs, these changes are not productive—they are an insult.
“Worse still, the provisions of these bills are unnecessary, as many of them already have been codified into law. It would be wise for Democrats in the Legislature to take time to read to the Revised School Code so they, too, can understand the rigorous statutory environment in which all Michigan schools—charters included—must operate.
“There is one group of public schools and one group only that embraces accountability and that group is charter public schools. If these lawmakers were serious about improving education they would look to charters as an example, not a political punching bag.”
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