The legal wrangling over charter-school caps spotlights many of the weaknesses in the state's 1997 charter-school law ("Charter feud must end," Jan. 21). To clarify that state law forbids enrollment caps and to correct these and other statutory weaknesses, I will be reintroducing legislation to strengthen charter schools' oversight and guide their growth. The Senate Education Committee is expected to act upon this bill in the coming months.
Our bill would give an independent commission, rather than the state Department of Education, the authority to oversee charters and allow for universities and other organizations to act as authorizing bodies. Charters, which spend, on average, $2,000 less per child than local school districts, have demonstrated impressive academic success - so much so that many parents are on waiting lists, clamoring to get in. As a result, these schools are accountable to not only the state and its authorizing body, but to these caring parents and children who can vote with their feet if their school is failing them.