Following a year of research, the Florida League of Women Voters issued a report this week that’s highly critical of the state’s charter school movement. Education “reform” critics, such as historian Diane Ravitch and AFT president Randi Weingarten, have begun passing around the document, calling it a “bombshell.”
In it, the League observes that Florida charters have a 20 percent closure rate because of financial problems or poor academic performance. Charter proponents have seen this as a good thing, as it weeds out the bad actors, and argue that the same should occur for traditional public schools. The League isn’t convinced.
The report notes that many state officials with power over charter schools also have vested interests in charters, including lawmakers Rep. Erik Fresen and Sen. John Legg. These political leaders have acknowledged their ties, but argued they have no legal conflict of interest.
