Dive Brief:
- Deficiencies like low academic performance and contract transparency issues have landed 11 of Michigan's 40 charter school authorizers on an "At-Risk of Suspension" list.
- According to State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, the authorizers have until the end of October to correct the issues before a final decision is made in November.
- Authorizers that do not make changes will lose their ability to authorize more charter schools.
Dive Insight:
News of the "at-risk" list comes after an 8-day series on charter schools published in June by the Detroit Free Press published. In short, the year-long investigation found that while the state of Michigan has given over $1 billion to charter schools, permissive laws and low accountability has led to sub-par schools staying open. After the Free Press articles came out, Flanagan kicked it into high gear, pledging to hold the charters accountable. For some, this feels a little too late. What was he doing before the articles came out? How did he not know this was an issue then?
Thus far, Flanagan's focus appears to be on charter school authorizers. However, there are other layers to the charter question. Education management companies — which in Michigan 79% are for-profit — are also an area the state should be focusing on.
