NC Gov. Cooper vetoes legislation that changes who approves charter schools
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed legislation on Friday that would strip the State Board of Education of its power to approve, renew and close charter schools.
State Republican lawmakers passed legislation in June that would transfer authority over charters to the Charter Schools Advisory Board, renamed the Charter Schools Review Board under the bill. The review board is made up of charter school advocates and eight of its 11 voting members are selected by the General Assembly.
“The North Carolina Constitution clearly gives the State Board of Education the oversight authority for public schools, including charter schools,” Cooper, a Democrat, said in his veto message. “This bill is a legislative power grab that turns that responsibility over to a commission of political friends and extremists appointed by Republican legislators, making it more likely that faulty or failing charter schools will be allowed to operate and shortchange their students.
“Oversight of charter schools should be conducted by education experts not partisan politicians.”
School Threat Assessment Teams now law
Cooper signed 11 bills into law on Friday, including one that will require every North Carolina public school to create a threat assessment team to identify students who are at risk of harming themselves or others. Previously, the teams had only been encouraged.
Also on Friday, Cooper vetoed a bill aimed at preventing the Building Code Council he appointed from requiring new homes to include additional insulation and other energy efficiency measures.
It’s among a string of vetoes that Cooper has issued in recent months. Earlier this week, Cooper vetoed three LGBTQ-related bills, including legislation barring transgender female athletes on women’s teams and preventing schools from discussing gender identity before the 5th grade.
GOP lawmakers are expected to override the vetoes since they have veto-proof majorities. The Senate had approved the charter school bill in a party-line vote while five Democrats had joined Republicans in supporting the bill in the House.
State board questions change
Charter schools are public schools. But they’re exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow, such as on teacher licensing, budgeting and the school calendar law.
There are more than 200 charter schools open statewide. Enrollment has soared in charter schools at a time when enrollment is still below pre-pandemic levels at traditional public schools.
Currently, the Charter Schools Advisory Board makes recommendations on charter school applications, renewals and closures. The final decision, though, has rested with the State Board of Education, which now has a majority made up of appointees of Gov. Cooper.
In a letter sent to lawmakers, state board chair Eric Davis said they’ve approved more than 90% of the over 140 applications recommended by the advisory board since 2013.
But earlier this year, the state board rejected a new charter school in Wake County and another in Union County that had been supported by the advisory board,
In the case of the Union County charter, state board members had raised concerns about giving funding to for-profit charter school operators. In contrast, advisory board members say for-profit operators can provide the new schools with the start-up money and expertise they need.
Transfer of charter school power
The legislation would relegate the State Board of Education to hearing appeals of decisions made by the review board.
Supporters say the change will streamline the application process and lead to more charter schools being approved.
Opponents say the bill strips the state board of its state constitutional authority over public education.
The advisory board is made up mainly of people who hold leadership positions in individual charter schools or in organizations that manage charter schools. In addition to the eight members appointed by lawmakers, two are chosen by the state board and one by the lieutenant governor.
This story was originally published July 7, 2023 at 1:39 PM with the headline "NC Gov. Cooper vetoes legislation that changes who approves charter schools."
