Minneapolis union will help authorize charter schools

12-06-2011

By Stephen Sawchuk/Education Week

A nonprofit body set up by the Minneapolis Federation of Teacher has been granted the authority to charter schools, in what's apparently the first such arrangement of its kind in the nation. An charter authorizer, let's be clear, is not the same thing as a charter-management organization. It does not act as management or get involved in the operations of such a school. Its main goal is to approve the new schools to open, to monitor them, and to shut them down if necessary if they fail to meet academic or financial benchmarks. Minnesota's charter school law was updated and strengthened in 2009 (see section 41 in this link). The revisions give the state more flexibility to cut ties with an authorizer if it's not meeting its obligations. Now, to answer the question I'm sure you have: No, the organization won't be able to give preferential treatment to schools whose staff want to organize. (more...)

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