Hello from a chilly St. Paul, Minnesota!  Earlier this week, the House Education Committee chose to incorporate into an omnibus bill, HF 998, legislation that would create a closure provision for charter schools performing in the lowest 25% of all public schools in the state.  The authorizer would still have the ability to keep the school open, but must justify why they are doing so.  The bill provides an exemption for AECs (referred to as Alternative Learning Centers in Minnesota).  Charter School Partners Executive Director, Al Fan, spoke out in support of the bill that would provide a red flag on schools that were performing poorly.  NACSA’s Alex Medler, testified about the importance of holding authorizers accountable for closing failing schools and making it easier to make the hard decision of closure.  Thank you, Charter School Partners, for inviting NACSA to St. Paul and we look forward to visiting again!