CONNECTICUT

Phaedon Sinis & Kelly Roda

Legislative History
        Connecticut's bill proposing charter schools is 
currently under consideration in the state Senate.  Two 
previous charter school bills, introduced in 1992 and 1993, 
were defeated in the legislature because of high opposition 
to school choice.  This year, SB 209 brought up vouchers as a 
possibility for educational reform.  There appears to be a 
lot of opposition to this bill and perhaps SB 309 on charter 
schools is a response to this opposition.  Educational reform 
has been a focus in the past few years in Connecticut.  The 
two major concerns lately have been the racial imbalance in 
school districts and disproportionate funding.
        Charter schools have spurred an on-going debate in 
Connecticut.    A main concern of the unions is that under 
the charter bill teachers may  be ÒexploitedÓ because there 
will be no standard pay and no union requirements.  A more 
widespread concern is that home schools could be set up with 
public funding under the guise of Òcharter schools.Ó   A 
third concern is that it is difficult to accurately assess 
charter schools.  Rebuttals to these concerns revolve around 
the fact that such schools are voluntary and that charter 
schools will have to attract their students to continue 
operating.
        One state representative believes the "creaming effect," 
which pulls the best and brightest students and teachers from 
traditional public schools, should be a consideration.  He 
worries that money and high-achieving students will be pulled 
out of public schools, and that reforms should take place 
within the existing system.   According to proponents, this 
has yet to happen in other states, and most likely will not 
occur in Connecticut.
        Proponents of the bill have many reasons to support it.  
One state senator argues that it will offer children, 
parents, and teachers more choice.   The chairman of the 
State Board of Education believes that charter schools will 
foster creativity and more efficient allocation of funds.  
Another reason mentioned in favor of charter schools is that 
they will help break up the public school monopoly, make all 
schools more efficient, and empower parents.  Responding to 
concerns surrounding accountability, supporters of the bill 
have suggested a variety of possible techniques for assessing 
education.
          Supporters maintain that the charter school bill, 
rather than exploiting teachers, gives schools the freedom to 
allow teachers to set their own salaries, giving them a 
greater degree of professional authority while bringing them 
into cooperation with the school management instead of in 
conflict, as teachers often are under union agreements.

Contents of the Bill
        The proposed Connecticut bill will allow any person, 
association, non-profit organization, for-profit corporation, 
public or independent institution of higher education, local 
or regional board of education, or regional educational 
service center to apply to the commissioner of education to 
create a charter school.  All schools established under this 
legislation must be public.  Two charter schools are allowed 
in each district with up to 20 charter schools in the entire 
state for the next two years.  Applicants must provide a 
variety of information in their application such as their 
mission, purpose, procedures for governing the school, the 
financial package, admissions criteria and so on.  Within 
sixty days of submitting an application to the commissioner, 
a copy of the application will be filed with the local or 
regional board of education of the school district.  Within 
thirty days of receiving the application from the 
commissioner, the local or regional board of education will 
make a recommendation to approve or reject the charter.  If 
approval is recommended, a public hearing takes place.  If it 
is not rejected by over two-thirds of the state board of 
education after the hearing, the charter school is approved.  
If the local or regional board of education recommends 
rejecting the charter, after the hearing has taken place, 
two-thirds of the state board of education must support the 
charter for it to be approved.  
        Each charter school is granted a 5-year contract that 
may be renewed by reapplying.  The governing council of each 
school must submit a report each year on how the school is 
meeting the standards enumerated in the original charter.  
Charter schools will receive 80% of the per-pupil cost of 
education in each district for each student who enrolls.   
Teachers in charter schools are not required to be certified.  
The districts in which the charter schools reside are 
responsible for providing transportation services to the 
schools.

Conclusions & Future Prospects
        While other Connecticut bills proposing charter schools 
have failed, this bill appears likely to pass.  There is 
currently strong support for charter schools among 
ConnecticutÕs voters.  But for the bill to pass, some 
adjustments will probably have to be made in order to satisfy 
less radical reformers, such as requiring teacher 
certification.  Other states have already set up charter 
schools that have been fairly successful and Connecticut will 
probably follow suit.  Whether or not these charter schools 
will fulfill all of the expectations placed upon them by 
proponents of the bill remains to be seen.