Michigan’s charter school operators are coming under closer scrutiny. On Monday, State Schools Superintendent Michael Flanagan released a list of 11 charter school authorizers that he says need to improve oversight of their schools. Authorizers of charter schools are educational institutions, often colleges, whose responsibility is to ensure oversight, accountability and adequate performance. They’re responsible for issuing charter contracts to school boards and then enforcing contract terms.
Flanagan says that without the improvements, he will stop the 11 from further authorizations. Some in the charter school community have been sharply critical of the move.
For his take on the Superintendent’s action, Current State speaks with Jared Burkhart, executive director of the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers.