The hypocrisy behind California’s proposed charter school funding cuts | Opinion
Connecting Waters Charter School, which has three schools located in Waterford, Modesto and Union City, provides vital alternatives to traditional classroom-only settings, supporting students whose needs cannot be met by a one-size-fits-all approach. For many students, this educational approach is not just nice to have, it is the only viable pathway to succeeding in school.
Flex-based, personalized learning public charter schools serve a diverse and often under-served student population who find success through education that is tailored to their individual needs. Our students are in independent study programs, they are taught by credentialed teachers, interact with their peers and have opportunities for extracurricular and enrichment activities.
But a bill moving through the state legislature, Assembly Bill 84, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, punishes independent study students who attend public charter schools and favors students enrolled in independent study programs at traditional district schools.
The bill would cut funding by up to 30% for students who attend a public charter school and do not receive full-time in-person learning.
But if a student attends an independent program run by a traditional district school and does not receive full-time in-person learning, that student would receive 100% state funding.
This would penalize high-performing and highly sought out public charter schools. The reality is that this two-tiered education funding scheme exposes a deep and disturbing double standard: For over 20 years, we have been proud to provide flexible, personalized education to students who need it most, including rural families, aspiring athletes, special education students, those with health challenges or others who simply did not succeed in a traditional classroom-only setting. Flex-based, personalized learning programs are lifelines for over 200,000 public school students throughout the state.
We are proud of how our students, parents and teachers work together to form plans for each student individually. This personalized approach allows students to find their passions in life.
AB 84 should concern every Californian who believes in educational equity. Our public education system should not discriminate based on governance models. A student is a student — whether they attend an independent study program at a public charter school or at a traditional school, and they should be funded the same.
In the convoluted maze of California’s education funding, fairness should be a guiding principle. Instead, AB 84 reveals an uncomfortable truth: California’s education establishment is willing to protect its own while kneecapping public charter schools that offer the exact same alternatives.