Seven Charter Authorizers have Warnings Withdrawn

Only four charter authorizers remain at risk of having their authority suspended, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan declared Wednesday.

Of the original 11 authorizers he had listed at risk of losing authority only Detroit Public Schools (DPS), the Education Achievement Authority (EAA), Highland Park Public Schools and Eastern Michigan University (EMU) remain on the at-risk list. At the time the original list was released, several of the others had, questioned their inclusion given overall performance.

Of note, three of those remaining on the list are tied to the EAA, as it is an inter-local agreement between DPS and EMU. Highland Park remains under an emergency manager and is one of two in the state where the schools are run by a charter operator.

Mr. Flanagan said those authorizers would remain on the at-risk list for now, leaving a decision on suspending their authority (existing charters would remain open but they could not authorize new ones) to incoming superintendent Brian Whiston. But department officials said he still retained the right to act if the current situation changed between now and July 1.

Jared Burkhart, Director of the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers, said removing the authorizers was a step, but the department needs a clearer process for adding authorizers to or removing them from the list.

Cindy Schumacher, Executive Director of The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, said her group is working to put the accreditation system into statute, and Michigan Association of Public School Academies President Dan Quisenberry urged continued work on a proposal.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, March 27, 2015 11:46 AM
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