So, I want to talk about a 2nd concern with the Choice in Education Act: opening the door to a massive expansion of charter schools while reducing charters' public oversight and accountability. #abed #ableg

(Note: speaking as a ed researcher here, not on behalf of the board.)

Currently, to establish a charter school, a group has to go to a local school board first and ask them to establish an alternative program. If that board agrees, boom, program established, no charter required.

The new Act enables groups to skip that step and go right to the minister to ask for a charter. No requirement to attempt to set it up as a properly public school.

In combination with the revokation of the cap on charter schools, this means as many groups as want charters can go right to the minister and ask for them. We've also seen loosening of regulations for charters, plus now the expansion of what can qualify as a charter school.

So now the minister can, on whatever criteria she wishes (bounded within the relatively minimal rules in the Act itself), approve a charter school.

The next piece is the exemption of charters from things like Joint Use Agreements. This makes it easier to transfer public infrastructure into the hands of a charter. It also means charters don't have to agree to return property to the public, even if we paid for it.

On top of that, charters are now exempted from some of the board regulations, which weakens the public oversight provisions of the Education Act in regards to these schools. They're now only registered as companies, not school boards.

At the same time, they still get 100% of per-student funding - more than private schools - and thanks to decisions made by both NDP and PC governments, they've started getting infrastructure money.

What results is charters that have moved even closer to private schools in what they can do, with weaker public oversight, more power over real estate, now more public funding for those buildings, and still an ability to turn away students (they don't have to take all kids).

And so essentially this is an end run around the claim that private school funding isn't changing. Currently, it isn't (although that can always change) but now more schools can ask for charters and get that 100% per student funding.

This places more funding into schools that are not public - despite their claims, a charter school is NOT the same as a public school - and opens the door to more privatized education in Alberta.