Ala. Board of Education’s refusal to follow school choice law could come back to bite them

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May 19, 2015

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Four members of the Alabama Board of Education refused to approve appointees for the charter school governing board last week, defying the new law because some members of the board felt left out of the legislative process. Now a new bill may leave them out all together.

Representative Terri Collins (R-Decatur), who sponsored the charter school bill that was signed into law earlier this session, is now sponsoring a bill that will strip the BOE of its power to appoint members to the Alabama Public Charters School Commission, which will oversee the state’s new charter schools.

The BOE is required by the law to appoint the Commission by June 1st, but doesn’t have another scheduled meeting until June 10th.

“If the majority of the state Board of Education chooses not to participate, we can’t force them,” Rep. Collins said Monday.

The House Education Policy Committee, which Collins chairs, is expected to consider the bill this week. As implementing charter schools is a major priority for Republican leadership this session, Collins’ bill is expected to make it through the legislative process quickly.

BOE member Stephanie Bell, who refused to vote on the appointments, said the Board wasn’t given enough time, and actually supports Collins’s bill to remove the authority from the BOE.

Member Mary Scott Hunter said she wants the BOE to retain its authority, adding, “I really think it’s important that the board exercise their influence over this,” and that she believes the Board was given enough time and qualified candidates to vote on the matter last week.

The Commission will function as a board of appeals for groups that want to open a charter school but are denied by their local school district. The Commission was originally written to be made up of 10 members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, legislative leadership, and the BOE, with an 11th member appointed by the local school board which denied the charter.