Charter School Push Out Students
Charter Schools Push Out Students
November 15, 2010
Catalyst Deputy Editor Sarah Karp and WBEZ Education Reporter Linda Lutton conduct solid research on how charters are more likely to expel students than traditional public schools and students are nearly twice as likely to transfer out of a charter school as a traditional public school.
According to their reports (which can be read here and here):
- Charters are more expensive to attend. Many schools issue fees and charge parents for students' bad behavior.
- Charter students can be expelled for offenses that would not warrant expulsion in traditional public schools.
- Credit recovery courses are often much more expensive at charters.
- Parents are often required to attend school functions at charters.
Essentially, charters have the ability to push students out of their schools and into neighborhood schools. These reports show that charters may be "creaming" students, which makes them comparable to magnet schools, not neighborhood public schools to which they are often compared.
