NJ Education Report

The Philadelphia Inquirer has this to say about “the insidious proliferation of charter schools” in New Jersey and Pennsylvania:

Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania are considering updates to their charter laws that would dilute local control. A Pennsylvania bill would bypass local boards by allowing universities to authorize and regulate charters. A New Jersey bill would vest authority over charters in a new state commission and give local boards a minority role in approving new schools.

Au contraire. The  editorial doesn’t specify which “New Jersey bill” would diminish local control in charter authorization; maybe that’s because the bill doesn’t exist. Currently NJ school boards have no authority in the charter approval process; sole authority is vested in the NJ Commissioner of Education. Two bills currently circulating — one sponsored by Assemblyman Troy Singleton and another sponsored by Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan — confer more authority to local school boards, not less. Let’s get our facts straight.