In a presentation before the [Georgia] Governor’s Education Finance Task Force, former UGA president and current chairman of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, Dr. Charles B. Knapp spoke passionately about the dire state of public education in Georgia and the nation as a whole. According to Dr. Knapp, American public education “is a train wreck that has already occurred”. If clean-up of this mess does not begin immediately, the consequence will be not only the continued loss of jobs overseas, but also as a long-term decline in the American standard of living.

The data supporting the view that American public schools are failing is a wake-up call. Since the 1970s, there has been almost no growth in the percentage of American adults in the workforce with a high school diploma. Meanwhile, other nations have caught and exceeded our levels of workers with secondary school diplomas, resulting in a decline of competitiveness of the American worker. Moreover, the education received does not seem to be doing the job of adequately preparing students for post-secondary study. Longitudinal studies cited by the Commission show that of 100 students beginning 9^th grade, only 68 will graduate high school on-time. Of these students, 40 will enroll directly in college and a mere 18 will graduate with an Associates or Bachelors degree within six years. Additionally, the cost of educating students over the past 30 years has risen with no appreciable increase in common benchmark test scores, such as 4^th grade reading scores. Something must be done.

While the Commission has proposed robust reforms for the national K-12 system that they would like to see actualized by 2021, in the interim the onus is on states and localities to produce the type of workforce that will best be able to adapt to an ever changing global environment. One way that Georgia can do this is to adopt charter school legislation that would provide parents with school choices that best fit the needs of their child while at the same time pushing schools to excel. Two options were recently presented before the Joint Charter Schools Subcommittee, H.B. 469 and H.B. 881.

H.B. 469, proposed by Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth), would create a system by which charter schools can be authorized from multiple sources, not just local Boards of Education. Included in the list of proposed authorizers are any local elected body (city, county, etc.), a public university, or the State Board of Education. The goal here is to create a free-market environment in which educational needs can be met in a way that encourages excellence in all public schools, charter and non-charter, through competition. Additionally, H.B. 469 would allow all state and 90% of local education monies to follow an enrolled child. Another proposal, H.B. 881, presented by Rep. Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta), would create the Georgia Charter School Commission, a central body that all charter schools are accountable to. Aside from having regulatory roles, the proposed Commission would also be able to authorize charter schools without local Board of Education approval, allowing for the proliferation of charter schools in districts where local board members may be less-than-friendly to the idea. Additionally, 90% of all funds will follow the child should they enroll in a charter school.

 The efficacy of charters schools is undeniable. Graduation rates are higher by 8-12%, more schools meet federal standards, and parents are able to target the needs of their children better while not having to resort to expensive private education. In the absence of comprehensive systemic changes, encouraging educational excellence through competition is the best way to get American education back on track. Legislation that encourages the creation of charter schools is a step in the right direction.