State lawmakers propose reforms to boost accountability of charter schools

State lawmakers have introduced 22 proposals to bolster accountability and transparency in Minnesota’s troubled charter school sector, but legislative leaders said more significant reforms probably will not happen until 2026.

Although charter schools were created to produce better educational outcomes, most fail to deliver on that promise. A 2024 Minnesota Star Tribune investigation — the result of months of examining documents, analyzing data and interviewing more than 100 people — revealed that just 13 charter schools have consistently exceeded the state average in math and reading proficiency.

“There is still some work to be done next year, but I think we did a great job this year taking care of some of the issues the Star Tribune brought to your readers’ attention in your series,” said Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, an Eden Prairie Democrat who sponsored many of the provisions as chairman of the Senate Education Policy Committee.

Unlike other states that have had more success in this area, Minnesota turned the job of regulating charter schools to outside organizations, including 10 nonprofits that oversee all but three of Minnesota’s 173 charter schools. Two public school districts also oversee a handful of schools.

Those nonprofits have taken vastly different approaches to their regulatory responsibilities. Some have made it easy for failing charter schools to remain open by overlooking consistently low test scores and other problems. Other authorizers have rigorously enforced the goals contained in charter school contracts and closed schools that consistently underperformed.

“We don’t want to see the bad actors continue,” said Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, co-chair of the House committee on education policy. “That is not in the best interests of the students or their families. So we need to delve into it more.”

So far, however, Republicans have blocked most of the Democratic proposals in the Senate from advancing in the House, said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, the other co-chair of the House education policy committee.

The House is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, which means there has to be bipartisan support for any proposal to make it out of committee. Jordan said Republicans have supported just one charter school measure in the House.

“I am very interested in looking at wholesale changes with charters,” Jordan said. “But we have to agree. And what I am hearing from the Republicans on my committee is that we shouldn’t treat charters any different than traditional public schools. But they are different from traditional schools.”

So far, there has been more bipartisan support for reform in the Senate, where an omnibus education bill containing nearly two dozen charter changes is poised for approval, Cwodzinski said.

“I support efforts to strengthen accountability and transparency in Minnesota’s charter schools,” said Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, the leading Republican on the Senate education policy committee.

The Senate bill also is supported by the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools, executive director Joey Cienian said.

“We believe all chartered public schools should be held accountable, transparent, and held to high standards,” Cienian said in a written response to questions. “This bill addresses real issues we’ve seen in the sector and asks school leaders and authorizers to take on additional responsibilities.”

Most of the measures would shed light on key oversight documents that are now largely hidden from the public, including charter school performance evaluations performed by authorizers and the notices schools receive when an authorizer discovers a problem, such as a financial deficit or a pattern of low test scores. (The Star Tribune obtained hundreds of charter school evaluations through public record requests, which readers can access here.)

Though school leaders receive such documents, authorizers say they are barred from sharing such records with parents, teachers or other members of the public.

In 2024, 10 nonprofits that oversee the vast majority of charters refused record requests from the Star Tribune for documents showing how they handle contract violations by the schools they supervise. The nonprofits claimed they were private organizations not subject to the state law requiring disclosure of all public records.

Cwodzinski has sponsored a bill that would require authorizers to comply with the state public records law, but that proposal has been stuck in committee and has not been added to the omnibus bill containing the other charter reforms.

The omnibus bill also requires authorizers to publicize the reviews conducted on their performance by the Minnesota Department of Education, which now take place every five years.

In Ohio, such reviews occur every year and authorizers that receive low scores may have their authority revoked by the state, which has led to the elimination of more than 40 authorizers.

“That is something I am very interested in,” Jordan said. “I think it is all on the table.”

The Senate bill also would require charter schools to video record school board meetings and post those videos on their website, a measure aimed at expanding parent and teacher involvement. At many charter schools, meetings draw few if any observers, sometimes because the boards have changed the meeting time or place without proper notice, records show.

Bennett said House Republicans are willing to support charter reforms that boost transparency, including several of the Senate proposals that are not currently part of the House education bill.

“Transparency is huge.... I would expect that some of those provisions could very well end up in the final bill,” Bennett said. “What I don’t support is holding charter schools to higher expectations, or lower, than regular public schools.”