Saphron backs CHARTER Act as legislation to hold EMOs accountable

Championing Honest and Responsible Transparency in Education Reform (CHARTER) Act would make necessary amends to ESEA, IDEA

SAPHRON ADVOCACY

Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. (June 10, 2024) — Yesterday, Monday July 1st, U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) introduced transformative legislation for charter school reform. The legislation, the Championing Honest and Responsible Transparency in Education Reform (CHARTER) Act, would curtail federal public funding for charter schools operated by for-profit Education Management Organizations (EMOs).

“For-profit companies are disguising themselves as schools, trading in taxpayer funds for boosted profits at the expense of our children’s learning,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “The CHARTER Act would ensure that for-profit education management organizations can no longer jump through loopholes that have given them access to funding that has always been intended for nonprofit entities. Educating our children should be for their enrichment and future prosperity – not to maximize the profits of their owners and investors. I am proud to be joined by Congresswoman Bonamici in introducing legislation to close this loophole for good.” 

Currently, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), many for-profit EMOs have found ways to gain access to federal funding, legally siphoning resources from the public into corporate interests. This contradicts a 2006 verdict in the U.S. Court of Appeals that found for-profit charters to be ineligible for federal funds under both ESEA and IDEA—a ruling that has yet to be followed through on.

The legislation was immediately endorsed by the Network for Public Education and a suite of allied groups, including Saphron Initiative.

“For too long, for-profit entities have been allowed to operate in the shadows, operating nonprofit charter schools as facades to sweep in federal and local taxpayer dollars,” said Carol Burris, Executive Director of the Network for Public Education. “Whether operating low-cost storefront schools, low-quality online schools, or leasing their real estate to the charters they run, their intent and purpose is to cash in on kids at taxpayers’ expense. The Network for Public Education strongly supports this important bill to bring further transparency to the charter sector and send more tax dollars to classrooms.”

The American Federation of Teachers has also backed the Act. The full text of the legislation is available here.

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