MMA letter in support of in-district charter school bill

Joint Committee on Education
State House, Boston

Dear Representative Walz, Senator O’Leary, and Members of the Committee,

On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to support House Docket 4474, an Act to Reform Education in Public Schools Through the Creation of In-District Charter Schools with Pay-For-Performance.

This important legislation, filed by Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston and Rep. Marie St. Fleur, would provide cities, towns and regional school districts with a powerful new tool to help all students be successful in school. The in-district charter school plan authorized in HD 4474   would build on the achievements of the landmark 1993 education reform law and take the next big step in the journey of public education improvement in Massachusetts. It would enable municipal and regional school districts to focus on under-achieving schools and students and act quickly to make changes in instruction and programs required for student success. The in-district charter school plan would help school districts close the persistent achievement gap that has served to remind us that not all students have fully benefited from the last round of reforms and that more must be done.

The in-district charter school plan in House Docket 4474 improves the structure of public education here in Massachusetts by empowering local school districts to convert any “underperforming” school to an in-district charter school “for the purpose of promoting rapid academic improvement.” Local school districts would also be empowered to establish new in-district charter schools for the purpose of rapid improvement. There would be no cap on the number of locally approved in-district charters.

In-district charter schools would be subject to a performance contract that would include goals for student achievement and actions known to improve achievement. Any in-district charter could be closed for failure to meet its goals. School districts would be allowed to implement a “pay-for-performance” incentive for teams of educators at an in-district charter school.

The in-district charter school plan would also provide local school districts with real tools to achieve rapid improvement of under-performing schools and better education for at-risk students. HD 4474 would allow local school districts to implement extraordinary measures to promote rapid educational improvement, including the removal of professional staff in under-performing schools, the suspension or termination of collective bargaining provisions that apply to an underperforming school and other actions necessary to achieve rapid improvement.

House Docket 4474 would create an education structure that is more flexible, more accountable and more likely to succeed than the structure we now have in place. The proposed in-district charter school plan would be administered and funded by the local school district that has responsibility for all of the students in the district. There would be a direct and powerful line of accountability that would facilitate and support this next step in education reform.

We request that the Committee give this important legislation a favorable report. If you have any questions about our position on this legislation, please do not hesitate to contact MMA Deputy Legislative Director John Robertson at (617) 426-7272 at any time.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
MMA Executive Director