As the collective voice of Illinois charter schools, INCS has three key advocacy priorities:
More charters
Illinois law artificially limits the growth of public charter schools by restricting the number of schools in each region. This cap is a severe constraint on the ability of high quality charter schools to provide outstanding educational opportunities to students.
- The INCS position: Geographic restrictions should be removed, and all 60 charters should be made available on a first come, first served basis. The cap on the number charters available statewide should be removed.
Fair funding for all public school students
Charters receive a percentage of the amount spent by a host district per pupil. Illinois provides inadequate funding to all public schools (currently 49 other states provide more money for public schools). The state urgently needs to reform its school funding system.
One of the biggest challenges facing charter schools is funding start-up operations. In 2005, Illinois lost a $2.5 million annual federal Charter School Program grant because of weak support for charters at the state level. Restoring state start-up dollars could help Illinois win back and dramatically increase its federal grant dollars. Charters also currently receive no facilities funding, requiring them to use education dollars to pay facilities costs.
- The INCS position: Restore the $250 per pupil in state start-up funds for new charter schools. Allow charters to access state construction funding on equal footing with traditional public schools.
More avenues for creating a charter school
Right now, educators who want to start a charter school must receive permission from the local school district. This is akin to Burger King needing permission from McDonald's to open a new restaurant. Charters need an alternative place to turn.
- The INCS position: Give public universities and/or separate statewide charter authorizers the power to grant charter applications, independent of school districts.
We encourage all charter supporters to take action to promote these goals.
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