Lawmakers question the performance of public charter schools, even though the schools are outperforming traditional public schools in their district

State Representatives Antonio Parkinson (left) and John Ray Clemmons (right) (Photos by the Tennessee General Assembly)

State Representatives John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, and Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, both serve districts where multiple public charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools nearby.  Still both lawmakers openly questioned the performance of those schools during debate over new charter legislation Monday morning in the House Government Operations Committee.

Supporters of the legislation say it’s needed to ensure the approval process for charters is fair and free of politically motivated delays. Charter schools are free public schools operated by a non-profit organization through an independent contract or “charter” with an authorizing agency like a school district or the state.

Under current law, potential charter applicants first apply to their local school board for approval.  Board members are supposed to follow state guidelines when making those decisions and denied charter applicants have the option of appealing to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission if they believe guidelines weren’t followed. 

In its history, the charter commission has upheld exactly the same number of denials as it has overturned, but concerns about political bias in some school districts led charter supporters, including Governor Bill Lee, to back legislation co-sponsored by Representative Mark White, R-Memphis.

It would allow charter applicants the ability to apply directly to the charter commission if they want to open a school in a district that has had three charter denials overturned in three straight years. The charter commission’s “direct authorization” would be in effect for the district for up to five years.

White told members of the House Government Operations Committee that the approval process changes are needed as charter schools have shown success helping students improve academic growth on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS).

“Tennessee charter schools have demonstrated one of the highest academic growths in the nation despite serving students with the greatest needs. In 2023 charter schools earned TVAAS scores of 4s and 5s at significantly higher rates than traditional public schools, 63 percent of charter schools earned a 4 and 5 compared to 38 percent of our traditional public schools,” said White. “Approximately 52 percent of the students who attend a Tennessee public charter school are economically disadvantaged, 90 percent are either black, Hispanic, or Native American.”

White’s comments quickly faced pushback from Parkinson and Clemmons who both questioned charter school performance.

“Why are we continuing to rig this system in favor of steering money into private hands when there is no data to support that charter schools are providing a better education for our students,” said Clemmons.

“Where did this data come from that says those charter schools outperformed traditional public schools,” asked Parkinson. “That’s a strong statement that charters outperformed traditional public schools.”

Parkinson additionally questioned the performance of charter schools in the state-run Achievement School District that lawmakers are considering eliminating.

Firefly staff compared the most recent testing performance of public charter schools serving school clusters in Clemmons’ district to traditional and magnet schools serving the same age students in the same school cluster. 70 percent of the public charter schools in Clemmons’ district were the top performing school in the cluster.

The results were similar comparing charter performance in Parkinson’s district.

The Tennessee Firefly compared state testing data of the four public charter schools that serve Memphis-Shelby County Schools in Parkinson’s district to their nearest district-run schools. Two charters outperformed the district school in every subject and a third outperformed the district-run school in a majority of subjects.

Members of the House Government Operations Committee voted to advance White’s legislation with a positive recommendation to the House floor.  Companion legislation passed the Senate last month.