HB 1219 – Charter School Conversion

Rep. Rhoads’ HB 1219 concerning conversion of regular public schools to charter schools has been reported out of the House Education committee. It creates a procedure whereby, if parents of 51% of current students sign a petition requesting a conversion to a charter school. The language was confusing to me. At first, I thought it was saying the conversion had to take place “not later than 90 days from the first signature.” But, upon re-reading, I guess it means that the last signature has to be gathered within 90 days of the first.

The statute repeals the similar IC 20-24-11. The main difference seems to be that, under current law, the signatures have to be gathered, the governing body agrees, and the school is underperforming. Under the proposed law, any one of those things might trigger a charter school conversion. I’m frankly out of my depth on this one, so I can’t say whether it’s a good idea or bad one.