Bills before the state House and Senate would allow charter schools greater freedom and funding opportunities in Kansas.
Now, Kansas has 15 charter schools; they're publicly funded but generally operate independently of school districts. The state had 37 charter schools three years ago, but many closed for financial reasons.
There's a bill on the Kansas Public Schools Charter Act up for discussion in both the House and Senate Education committees. Each would would allow charter schools to have lottery admissions and to bar them from discriminating in the types of students they admit. However, the charter schools would be able to turn away special education students.
The bills would exempt charter schools from regulations for graduation requirements and curriculum standards. They would also allow independent monitors to set up public schools, instead of being exclusively run by local school boards.
Education committees in the House and Senate are set to consider these bills on Wednesday.
