By Andrew Vanacore
The Times-Picayune
September 27, 2011
The Louisiana Department of Education will lay out a plan for keeping a closer eye on independent charter schools today that includes restructuring the department’s charter office, an increase in funding and more clearly defined roles for the different state officials involved in the job. Department officials, who will unveil the plan at a meeting of the state board of education today, are calling the strategy “preliminary” and saying it could still evolve based on an external review. They will need board approval for certain aspects, but they expect much of the new strategy to fall within the framework of existing board policy and state law.
The plan reflects heightened criticism aimed at the department since revelations earlier this year about teacher complaints filed against Abramson Science and Technology Charter School in eastern New Orleans. After numerous allegations came to light in July, including accusations of cheating on science fair competitions and a lack of proper supervision for students, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education revoked the school’s charter. But the fact that more than a year elapsed between the original complaints and final action by the board gave ammunition to those who have questioned the state’s ability to keep a close enough eye on charter schools.
In response, acting state Superintendent Ollie Tyler last month promised a comprehensive investigation into how the department handles oversight of charters, which enjoy greater autonomy than their traditional counterparts.
State officials have already said they plan to shift responsibility for charter supervision in New Orleans to the state-run Recovery School District, where New Orleans-based staff will conduct annual reviews at every school.
Officials from both the RSD and the department of education in Baton Rouge worked on the report that BESE will get today, which lays out numerous steps