Uh oh, North Dakota (along with 10 other Mid-West states) doesn't have a charter school law on the books.

Read the entire article and post a comment on grandforksherald.com.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/arti...ublisher_ID/40/

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New education reform criteria puts N.D. at a disadvantage

North Dakota would probably rate high on a list of criteria for a $4.35 billion federal education reform competition, but one program guideline could put the state at a disadvantage.

By: Ryan Johnson, Grand Forks Herald

North Dakota would probably rate high on a list of criteria for a $4.35 billion federal education reform competition, but one program guideline could put the state at a disadvantage. ...

...State Superintendent Wayne Sanstead said the program’s criteria could be a problem for North Dakota and the 10 other mostly Midwestern states that don’t have charter school laws on the books.

“That’s a part that bothers us,” he said. “It bothered us the minute we saw back in August the proposed requirements.”

Charter schools teach K-12 students and receive public money but are attended by choice and often are formed to produce higher educational results. Sanstead said that’s hard to do in a state with many isolated school districts that couldn’t efficiently fund both charter and public schools.

National officials have told him the state won’t be penalized because of this, but he said it still will have an impact on the chances. “They say they’re not going to dock you for that, but what they’re going to do is not give you about 40 points,” he said.

Sanstead said North Dakota would do pretty well with most of the application criteria because of past state efforts in adopting more rigorous standards, attracting and retaining effective teachers and using data to improve instruction.

But one guideline, the need to demonstrate and sustain education reform, could pose a problem. One section of the U.S. Department of Education description says states should be “expanding support for high-performing public charter schools.”

He said this piece of the criteria could “well be a hurdle” to North Dakota, adding some research has shown charter schools aren’t necessarily a more effective or efficient system.

Grand Forks Superintendent Larry Nybladh said the program’s attempt to hold school districts accountable for their performance while providing federal funding would be “welcome relief” to local schools. But he said smaller states are “disadvantaged” by the charter school requirement.

“The aspects of requiring specific solutions that do not fit our environment are very concerning,” he said. ...