Association President and CEO Eileen Sigmund wrote an op-ed to the Sahuarita Sun to dispel myths regarding charter school achievement and whether or not charter schools accept all students.
Story Published in the Sahuarita Sun on Aug. 18, 2015
A letter to the editor published July 29, 2015, contained a number of inaccuracies regarding Arizona’s public charter schools (“Charter regulation).
Charter schools are required by law to accept all students. Our schools serve nearly 190,000 students, and it is unacceptable for any public school, district or charter, to deny enrollment for a child with a disability. It is a disservice to hardworking charter teachers and administrators to allege charter schools are not following the letter of the law. That is simply false.
Throughout the past 20 years, charters have improved Arizona’s education landscape while providing diverse educational choices. In 2014, charter schools comprised 18 of the top 30 schools in Arizona. That year, which contains the most recent letter grade ratings, 73 percent of charter schools earned an A or B rating from the state or improved their letter grade.
Both charter schools and districts have been adversely affected by funding cuts, but charter students still receive about $1,000 less per student in total funding than district students, according to the latest funding overview from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
As an association, our priority is to strengthen public education through productive dialogue on the issues facing our students and families. But we won’t make any progress unless we can accurately portray the academic options available to our students.
Eileen Sigmund, President and CEO Arizona Charter Schools Association
