ACLU cracks down on over 100 Arizona Charter Schools

Around 100 Arizona charter schools are being forced to undergo policy and documentation changes. This is all on the heels of an ACLU charter school report that stated “clearly illegal or exclusionary” enrollment practices were being used inside the schools in question.

Executive Director of the ACLU, Ashley Berg, wrote an e-mail stating, “The Board took the ACLU’s analysis seriously. As of today 97 percent of the schools the ACLU claimed were not in compliance with the law have been deemed complaint by the Board.”

The remaining three percent will work alongside ACLU to fix the issues. As the e-mail pointed out the last three percent will “continue to work with Board staff to ensure their enrollment documents and policies adhere to the law.”

The analysis on behalf of the ACLU is a part of their Demand 2 Learn campaign. This program kicked off in December and is designed to reform unjust admission and disciplinary policies. The ACLU says they decided to focus on charter school procedures after numerous complaints from Arizona charter schools.

After the ACLU examined 471 charter schools, they concluded that more than half had policies that targeted or left out students with:

  • Disabilities

  • Low Grades

  • Poor Test Scores

  • Behavioral Issues

  • Financial Worries

  • Illegal Parents

On top of that, the ACLU uncovered that 88 charter schools require essays to enroll. Some even encouraged that those with “academic problems” don’t apply. Almost 60 schools disqualified students who have been suspended in their academic career. Meanwhile, 46 schools require that the parents do a specific number of volunteer hours. If the parent chose to, in six schools, they could have paid to get out of the volunteering. Lastly, 35 schools charged fees for materials that are essential to learning such as textbooks.

The ACLU responded, “Many schools have been able to get away with exclusionary practices for years without accountability.”  However, the group pointed out those State laws does not condone any of the violations outlined above.

Concerned mother of twins who were turned away from Arizona charter schools due to their special-education needs, Jacque Salomon stated, “After months of what seemed like a stalemate, the board produced a valiant effort. The review framework seems driven toward reform and accountability of the charters they authorize.”

The ACL U contacted schools that violated the law on April 5th. These schools were given 30 days to correct their compliance issues.

Additionally, the Board requested changes to:

  • Special Education Caps

  • Policies Prohibiting Children with Past Suspensions to Apply

  • Unfounded Fees

  • Parent Volunteer Requirement

To avoid these problems again, the Board will review enrollment documents when:

  • A School is Placed on a Board Meeting Agenda

  • When a Complaint is Made About the School

  • As the School Reaches a One, Five, and Ten Year Mark

While these are all steps in the right direction, the ACLU Executive Director of Arizona, Alessandra Soler, said there’s more to be done. She stated. “It took Arizona Charter Board five months to act on our report, and during this time, we saw more examples of the damage that can be done when accountability for charter schools is lacking. We will keep fighting to make sure public charter schools are open to all Arizona families and are accountable to the public.”

The Arizona Charter Schools Associate President and CEO, Eileen Sigmund weighed in, “Essentially, what we found out is what may have been in writing was not in practice by or schools. They were happy to update policies and enrollment because our charter doors are open for all students. That is actively what our leaders want to do. They want to make sure that everything they represent is for all students—on their websites, in their greeting with schools and families.”

To accomplish this task, both the Charter Schools Association and the Board have new guidelines, legal briefs, and FAQ sheets meant to scrutinize the enrollment process. Sigmund stated, “Our school leaders are busy educating students, so we just want to be a bridge and make sure there’s communication about what needs to be in place.”