Groups want to end NC charter school grant program. State says give it more time.
A national education group wants the federal government to review and potentially shut down a program that North Carolina is using to provide millions of dollars to charter schools.
North Carolina has received $36.6 million in federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant money to help increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students attending charter schools. But the Network for Public Education charges that the state has used the money to help fund “white-flight alternatives to the local public schools.”
“As organizations committed to social justice and equality of opportunity for Black, Latinx, special needs, and economically disadvantaged students, we are appalled by the federal government’s role in perpetuating and expanding segregation based on race and class by fiscally supporting the North Carolina State Entities CSP grant,” the Network for Public Education and other advocacy groups wrote in a June letter to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
The groups want Cardona to “terminate or reduce the grant” given to the state.
State education officials are defending the program, NC ACCESS, saying there’s been an overall increase in the number of low-income and minority students at the schools that got grants.
“Great strides have been made successfully to both expand the number of high-quality charter schools in NC serving EDS (educationally disadvantaged students) while increasing the proportion of EDS served by those charter schools,” the state Department of Public Instruction said in a statement.
Demographics at charter schools
There were 200 charter schools open in North Carolina last school year with six more set to open this fall. Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the requirements that traditional public schools must follow, such as providing bus service and meals to students.
The lack of transportation and free meals has kept some low-income students from attending charter schools.
On average, North Carolina charter schools have more white students and fewer students receiving federally subsidized lunches than traditional public schools.
Under the federal grant program, grantees have to develop transportation and meal plans and revise their selection process to give priority to disadvantaged students.
Last week, the State Board of Education awarded $10.8 million to 19 charter schools. Triangle Math and Science Academy, the biggest recipient, got $1 million for a new school it will open in Apex in 2022.
More than $33 million has been awarded since 2019, with about $3 million left to give charter schools.
Diversity gaps at grant schools
According to an analysis of the first two years of grants, the Network for Public Education says 11 of the 29 schools it had demographic data for have either significantly more white students or significantly fewer Black students than the districts they’re located in.
Among the schools cited in the report are Hobgood Academy in Halifax County, which got a $700,000 federal grant in 2020. Halifax was among the private schools that opened in the late 1960s and early 1970s as alternatives for white parents fearful of school integration.
The state board approved Hobgood’s request to convert to a charter school in 2019.
The Network for Public Education also notes that most grant recipients had lower percentages of economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities compared to their surrounding school district. In the majority of cases, the gap for economically disadvantaged students was more than 20%.
“The federal government should not be subsidizing schools that are not sincere and are disproportionately white and not economically disadvantaged compared to the local school district,” Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education, said in an interview.
Diversity increasing at charter schools
State education officials say the grant recipients are attracting more students of color now, but it will take time to see major demographic changes.
“Schools that have made the commitments to greater racial diversity know that their current demographics are not where they need to be,” DPI said in the statement. “They also know that demographics do not change overnight.
“Subgrantee schools are only one to two years into this process and, while progress is already being made, racial diversity will continue to increase long-term.”
According to DPI, the grantees are increasing their racial diversity faster than other charter schools, enrolling nearly 80% more students of color since 2017.
DPI says the figures the Network for Public Education used don’t truly reflect the number of disadvantaged students at charter schools. DPI says that since not all charter schools participate in the National School Lunch Program they don’t have to collect economic data for all students.
Even with that limitation, DPI says six grantees reported serving an additional 250 educationally disadvantaged students after the first year. After the second year, 34 schools reported serving an additional 1,485 educationally disadvantaged students.
“More educationally disadvantaged students are being served throughout the state,” according to the 2021 NC ACCESS Grant program report. “More buses are running daily to help reduce transportation barriers. More lunches are being provided to those who need it.
“And maybe more importantly, amazing things are happening in schools that data can’t capture,” the report said.
Are charters doing enough?
Burris said she has no doubt that some grant recipients are sincere in their desire to attract more disadvantaged students. But Burris is skeptical of the long-term success the charter schools will have attracting large numbers of disadvantaged students.
She cites how some grant recipients have policies that allow corporal punishment and how some require parents to volunteer at school or donate money to meet the service requirement.
Other grant recipients are relying on carpooling and are not providing door-to-door transportation. Some recipients are turning to food banks and giving gift cards to families as ways to help provide meals to poor kids.
“You can say you want economically disadvantaged students in your school,” Burris said. “If you don’t have a solid free lunch program and you’re not really providing transportation, you’re not going to get kids from poor households in your school.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 5:50 AM with the headline "Groups want to end NC charter school grant program. State says give it more time.."
