The Statewide Charter School Board poses for a picture before a meeting January at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
Amid a bizarre crusade to eviscerate the line between church and state and a seeming zeal to rapidly expand school choice to all, the number of charter schools seems to be approaching a saturation point.
And it’s become a real headscratcher that our lawmakers aren’t willing to do the heavy lifting to better regulate this critical part of our academic infrastructure. Maybe that could include requiring these schools to meet certain academic performance thresholds to remain open or penalizing sponsors who aren’t providing adequate oversight. It could also include capping how many of these institutions can exist at once, setting enrollment minimums in order to operate, ensuring teacher qualifications and setting maximum student-to-teacher ratios…