Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy has released a report that tells how Kansas could get better value for the money the state spends on K-12 education. Charter schools and school choice programs could — if not for opposition from the existing public school lobby and teachers unions — provide flexibility and and impetus for improving all Kansas schools.
Kansas doesn’t have many charter schools. Part of the problem in Kansas, Soutar reports, is the law that governs charter school authorization: “… unlike most other states, Kansas charter schools are not truly independent. State law says they can only be authorized by school districts. That’s like Burger King having to ask McDonald’s for permission to open down the street. Even when local school districts authorize a charter school, there are obvious problems achieving the independence and educational difference charter schools are intended to offer.”
The article also explores the battle over school choice programs in Kansas.
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