Is lack of charter schools a problem?

Last year Minnesota had 153 charter schools, Wisconsin had 206, Illinois had 39 and Missouri had 33.

Iowa has seven.

The semi-independent educational ventures are popular with education reformers as a means of encouraging innovation, but they have not caught on in Iowa.

In most states, charter schools are primary or secondary learning institutions that receive public money, but typically operate outside state and district-level rules and curricula. Families choose whether to send their children to the schools, which sometimes are operated by private companies.

It's a different story in Iowa.

Despite allowing charter schools since 2002, Iowa's law has several limitations compared with other states. Charters can be created only from existing public schools and remain under the jurisdiction of the local school board, which has the power to approve or reject a charter application.

Policies such as these can stifle new ideas and scare away many of the private companies that have been a big part of charter growth, said Peter Groff, CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Groff said stronger charter school laws than Iowa's allow parents and teachers to experiment without having to worry about school district policies.

“It's hard to come in and say, ‘Hey, we want to extend the school day,' if the district says, ‘That's not the way we want to go.' Those restrictions can really pinch innovation,” Groff said.

What Groff sees as a limitation, the teacher's union sees as protection for students and taxpayers. The Iowa School Employees Association believes the restrictions of the current law keep public funds from being misused, said Brad Hudson, an association lobbyist.

“Some charter schools in other states are only open for half a year, and then they're bankrupt. We think the financial safeguards are absolutely necessary,” Hudson said.

Hudson said Iowa's charter law is better than others because it preserves the Iowa tradition of strong local control.

“Iowans are raised knowing they can take their concerns to the local school board and have them addressed,” he said.

For the few schools that do start charter schools in Iowa, it's a chance to bend some regulations to allow more creative curricula.

Still, changes offered in Iowa charter proposals are not always the most dramatic, said Kevin Fangman, acting director of the Iowa Department of Education,

“A lot of the proposals that come forward, there's a question whether they need charter status or not. Sometimes they just need leeway in one or two areas,” he said.

The most common charter school models in the state are high school-community college partnerships that allow students to get a head start on their college education. Charters in Burnside, Maynard and Storm Lake allow students to work toward two- and four-year degrees while still enrolled in high school.

Most high schools offer some kind of postsecondary option for students already, but charters allow these schools more flexibility to enact changes, such as extending the school year or adding a fifth year to the curriculum, Fangman said.

One of the unique programs is the eSigourney Entrepreneurial Academy for Leadership. Students split their time between the high school or middle school and a storefront in downtown Sigourney, where they each spend time running their own businesses. These include a gift-wrapping service, a web design company and a bakery.

Junior Jessica Magill, 17, keeps a busy schedule between managing her schoolwork and her web design business. Her clients include the school district itself.

“I'm only at the school about three hours out of the day; I'm downtown the rest of the time.” she said.

Sigourney Superintendent Todd Abrahamson said the academy is probably the most innovative charter school in the state.

“Most secondary charters follow the same framework. What makes ours so separate is we're one of the only ones acting as a business incubator in K-12 education,” Abrahamson said.

The current charter school law has served them well, but Abrahamson can see how the law's restrictions could be problematic.

“We have a great relationship with our school board, but I can see where you might end up with a board that doesn't understand what you're trying to do,” he said.

So should the law be changed? The Department of Education's Fangman believes that after eight years, the state is ready to give charter schools another chance.

“It's time to sit down and really look at what are the options and what accountability measures are going to be put in place,” he said.