Charter School Advocates Mount Attack Against White House Proposal to Strip Funding

By WMAL.com

Charter School advocates are rallying to kill a radical proposal released by the White House last month that would strip federal grants from charter schools run by for-profit companies. Following the announcement of the proposal by Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, advocates for parental choice in education are preparing to fight back.

On Wednesday, advocates for school choice took their fight to the doorstep of the Department of Education, dropping off boxes of letters from concerned parents over the new proposal. The letters voiced their strong opposition to the plan, arguing that it would severely limit new charter school’s ability to grow and force the closure of many existing schools.

The proposal released by the White House would prioritize federal grants to charter schools who work in close collaboration with government-run school districts, while blocking grants to schools who choose to operate autonomously of their local school district.

“This is an existential threat,” said Debbie Veney, senior vice president of communications and marketing at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “One out of every two charter schools in the country has received federal start-up money. It would literally cripple the charter school sector.”

“This makes about as much sense as saying that the little mom-and-pop coffee shop needs to get a signoff from Starbucks in order to open up their coffee shop,” Veney said. “No, that’s never going to happen.”

The rule would be devastating to the nearly 1 in 10 charter schools that are managed by for-profit companies. The proposal marks yet another attempt from the left to limit parents ability to be afforded choice when it comes to their child’s education.

Tune in live for more on the stories that matter to you: WMAL.com | WMAL app | “Alexa, play W-M-A-L”

Copyright 2022 by WMAL.com. All rights reserved.

Follow WMAL on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Rumble, Gettr and Parler

Missed a Show? Listen Here

Newsletter

Local Weather