Austin, sorry, I misspoke (mistyped?) when I said private when what I intended was for profit. Many charter schools are run by for profit companies with the use of our tax dollars and have far fewer regulations than public schools.
Yes, some regulations are bad and NCLB is a prime example. However, one particular regulation I think worthy is limiting class sizes, and Texas charter schools are exempt from class size requirements. Texas does not require charters to hire certified teachers, either, just as a number of other states also exempt charters from certification. Less oversight isn't good in those situations, especially when you have a for profit company making the decision to hire fewer teachers and increase its profits rather than smaller classes.
One problem with the idea of school choice and the transfer of public monies to private schools and/or for profit charters is that there is no requirement that those schools accepting public monies accept any and all applicants/transfers. The schools in the 5th Ward of Houston and the 9th Ward of New Orleans could have stellar test scores and graduation and college acceptance rates if they were allowed to choose the students they enroll and expel those who are not cooperating in their own education. Force Andover or Hockaday to accept anyone who applies and they become just another school, with some exceptionsl students and some who could care less. Universal education demands that even those who do not want an education receive the tools and lessons for one, and then our public schools are unfairly compared to those private and charter schools who get to skim the cream. Apples and oranges.
Yes, we need to do something to fix our schools, especially those which are corrupt. Unfortunately, corrupt school districts are often merely symptoms of the larger problem in this country, the apathetic citizenry (some school boards are elected with less than 10% of registered voters casting ballots). People complain about NCLB but don't connect it to the legislators who have personal or lobbying ties to the testing companies. We want teachers to be held accountable, but don't let little Johnny or Susie receive a bad grade or- heaven forbid- be held back a year. Polling consistently says people value educational issues, but we rarely actually turn out to vote on them. Unfortunately, we often get the government we deserve, and that is also reflected in our school systems.
