On Wednesday, October 7th, Ohio state lawmakers passed House Bill 2 (HB 2), a comprehensive charter school reform bill. In response, Amanda Fenton, director of state and federal policy at NACSA, issued the following statement:

“It is a huge victory for charter school oversight in Ohio. Nearly a year in the works, this bill contains needed charter school oversight provisions that will strengthen accountability for both sponsors and schools, as well as increase operator transparency

We are pleased the bill places restrictions on authorizing shopping, a practice that erodes the charter promise by allowing schools to skirt consequences for poor academic performance. By addressing this issue as well as clarifying the state’s authorizer evaluation process, the legislature sends a clear message that quality authorizing is essential to creating great public charter schools.

We commend the state’s legislators for taking this issue on so early in the fall session. While there is still much to be done, the commonsense solutions included in the bill will go far to prevent the fraud and waste that has plagued the state for far too long.”