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Last week, I explained why I no longer think that charter schools are public schools and asked for comments from GothamSchools readers. I’ve given a lot of thought to the ideas that others have presented.

First, no one has come close to rehabilitating the argument that charter schools are public schools simply because they accept public funds. Many organizations have their operations paid for — in whole or in part — by public funds, and not all of them are public in the way that “our public schools” are. If charters are public schools, this is not why.

Second, I raised the issue of democratic accountability. To what degree do elected officials and their appointees have authority over arbitrary aspects of charter school operations and staffing? For example, years ago Mayor Bloomberg required all schools to hire parent coordinators. Under mayoral control, Bloomberg can mandate curriculum and spending decisions, and any spending not controlled by existing contracts. Generally, elected officials and their appointees can even remove principals and other administrators for arbitrary — though not discriminatory — reasons. (Because New York City principals have a union contract, this authority is severely constrained. But this is unique to the city and could be negotiated out of the contract.)

There have been many arguments raised against this point, but they generally fall into two camps. (more…)

Righteous indignation isn’t a rare state for me, but I usually don’t do anything about it. I just don’t have time. But about a year ago, during a day off, I was watching “Morning Joe” on MSNBC and caught what I felt was an unfair attack on teachers and our unions. By the end of the day, I’d dashed off an angry response to the show. I never heard back; mine was probably one of many responses. Since then, I witnessed a few more attacks by the show’s hosts on teachers, thinly disguised as attacks on unions to the extent that I stopped watching the show.

And so when I saw a commercial for last Thursday’s broadcast of “Morning Joe,” featuring a forum on education, I wondered if the panel of experts would include any teachers. Although I haven’t seen the show in a while, I wished that I wouldn’t be commuting and working while it was airing. During my lunch period, I did a little reading about the event and learned that there most certainly were teachers present.

They were in the audience.

Audience members — that’s what we have become in this national debate about everything that’s wrong with our schools. (more…)

New York State lost out on $700 million in federal Race to the Top money today, placing second to last and beating only the District of Columbia among the 16 finalists. Only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, won in the initial phase of competition for the coveted federal grants.

New York was not widely expected to be a first-round winner; even its advance to the final round of competition caught many observers by surprise. Today’s announcement will send state education officials back to the drafting table to refine their plan — and will likely re-ignite a legislative battle over the state’s teacher evaluation laws and cap on charter schools — before the June 1 deadline for the next round of competition.

In the 500-point scoring rubric federal officials used to judge applications, New York lost the greatest share of points on the sections of its application dealing with statewide data systems, teacher evaluations and charter schools.

“This is like going to the doctor and getting your bloodwork back,” Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said.”They told us our cholesterol is high and we need to fix it.” (more…)

We should rejoice when the judiciary checks illegal use of political authority. That’s what happened in Mulgrew v. Board of Education, which curtailed plans by the New York City Department of Education to close 19 schools it had identified as failing. The court ruled that the city violated notice and hearing requirements and that the DOE failed to “provide any meaningful information regarding the impacts on the students or the ability of the schools in the affected community to accommodate those students” as required by state law.

But the decision should also be greeted with sadness. That the city should so brazenly violate the letter of the law is contemptible. That the identified schools, hobbled by instructional incompetence or supervisory negligence, will continue to maltreat students is equally appalling.

Mulgrew will be difficult to overturn on appeal. The decision is squarely based on facts admitted by both parties and established law about Environmental Impact Statements, the direct legal precursor to the new requirement for Educational Impact Statements issued by the DOE to justify school closings. Again and again, the court castigates the DOE for its actions, finding “significant violations of the Education Law.” (more…)

• A judge ruled the city’s bid to close 19 schools illegal. (GothamSchools, Post, Daily News, Times, NY1)
• The Post says the ruling that the closures weren’t decided legally is “nitpicking.”
• The Daily News laments that the ruling reflects a win for the teachers union.
• Spending on classroom instruction could fall by about 3 percent this year, according to the IBO. (Post)
• A second charter school State Sen. Malcolm Smith helps also has structural issues. (Daily News)
• Chelsea’s Bayard Rustin High School isn’t happy about Quest 2 Learn moving in. (Chelsea Now)
• A family was found to be hiding an arsenal of weapons across the street from Brooklyn’s PS 216. (Post)
• Geoffrey Canada: Politicians who oppose charter schools personally use school choice. (Daily News)
• Teachers in Los Angeles have agreed to shorten the school year, and cut their own pay. (L.A. Times)
• Philadelphia’s schools chief says she didn’t know about major policy proposals. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Students at D.C.’s troubled high schools are gearing up to take standardized tests. (Washington Post)

• Given a reprieve by the court, a teacher at a formerly closing school says she’s “thrilled.”
• The reprieve is good news for the UFT, writes Edwize, but they’re still waiting for an apology.
• Four charter schools are among those affected by the court’s decision to void 19 school closures.
• U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will announce Race to the Top winners on Monday.
• Andy Smarick says the results of the competition probably won’t live up to the hype.
• Rick Hess thinks the contest has been a distraction from the work of figuring out how to do more with less.
• Pentagram, a design firm, transforms a Brooklyn charter school with lots of paint and slogans.
• In part two in a series on charters serving high needs students, WNYC looks at John Lavelle Prep.
• WNYC reporter Beth Fertig has a new blog that focuses on federal edu reforms.
• A New Action candidate for a seat on the UFT’s exec board writes about the upcoming election.
• In a series on the 2005 contract, a UFT member writes about the end of the grievance procedure.
• An NYC public school parent interviews historian Diane Ravitch about education in the U.S.
• Here’s an amazing picture from a Florida rally by a group that gives students tax credit scholarships.
• And happy spring break! We’re taking a bit of a break, too. We’ll be posting, but more lightly than usual.