Public School Group in Kentucky Taking Notes as Charter Schools

by KEVIN WILLIS – 

CREDIT CATHY YEULET/123RF STOCK PHOTO

  The Kentucky School Boards Association says its members will be watching with interest as charter schools open their doors as early as this fall. A bill signed into law by Governor Bevin this year will allow charter schools in the commonwealth for the first time.

Charter schools receive public funding and are exempt from most state regulations. Brad Hughes is the spokesman for the state School Boards Association. He said public school systems will be taking notes on which state requirements charters avoid, such as those affecting the academic calendar.

Hughes said, “Whether to have regular school classes on Saturday, whether there are limits to the length of the school day, whether the school year is based specifically on hours spent—as opposed to days spent—in the classroom.”

Hughes said public school boards will likely seek relief from at least some—if not all—of the regulations charter schools avoid. He said public schools are prepared to ask for the same kind of leeway given to charters.

“You’re going to see public schools come back and say, ‘Hey, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.’ Let’s release that from all public schools, to be able to see if it’s going to produce there academically, will it produce results everywhere else,” Hughes said.

Local school districts and the mayors of Lexington and Louisville will have the power to approve charter applications. Denied applications could be appealed to the Kentucky Board of Education.