March 2024
Dear Friend of Golden View Classical Academy,
As much as I like to see lipstick on a pig, you can’t help but recognize that it is, after all, still a pig. The dryly named HB24-1363, currently introduced in the Colorado legislature as advancing “charter accountability,”, is one such animal. While I hesitate to delve directly into politics in these letters, every friend of Golden View, whether close or distant, and every friend of school choice, ought to be aware that behind the lipstick of accountability is really just a good old hog that’s better as bacon than legislation.
This is a law that institutionalizes racism, promotes cartelism, and creates a heckler’s veto, all with the aim of preventing parental choice in education. The end result of the law, should it pass, is the effective end of charter schools in Colorado. Here’s what I mean…
First, it requires charter school boards to reflect the demographics (race) of the school community. Right now, of course, such a decision is allowed if charter schools want to, but this law compels it. That’s racist, if we take racism to mean accounting for race in official representation. Such a strange world it is that what I just wrote - that compelling people to take account of race is racist - is what others call racist. At any rate, who gets to define “demographics?” How are schools supposed to count this genuinely? How many races are there that you’re supposed to count? Are we supposed to say, for instance, that “Asian” is a race (as it seems to be on state reports that we have to file every year), given the complexity and diversity of our largest continent? The whole thing, the aim and the manner we’d have to go about complying, is insulting. And, let me ask, if this is a good idea for school boards as representative bodies, are we supposed to change our legislatures to be race-based as well?
Second, it prevents charter school appeals when their applications (or re-applications) are denied. Right now charter schools can appeal denials to the state boards. This law makes the local board, the precise entity that is competing with charter schools, the final authority over their existence. As a complete control on the existence of schools, this allows school districts to operate as a cartel that prevents children from receiving the education their parents want for them.
Third, it allows single individuals (I’m not kidding) to torpedo charter applications. Community members, people who have maybe no interest at all in the school other than rank and visceral opposition to school choice, can appeal a district’s decision to allow or renew a charter. That is called a heckler’s veto (like the loud audience member who single-handedly drowns out a speaker). In what world is such a thing a good idea?
And one final note. The law prevents charter schools from having automatic waivers. Another way of saying this is that this law prevents charter schools…from being charter schools.
A professor of mine once said - you don’t need to go looking for an answer when stupidity is sufficient. But on this one I’m inclined to think it’s more than that. I’m inclined to think the law is not intended to pass but to test the farm, to see just how much makeup can go on a beast before everyone sees it for what it is. If it happens that this one is allowed to strut, lipstick blazing even a little bit, even if it is ultimately not passed or is vetoed by the Governor, that little hesitation will set a precedent for similar laws in the future to erode charter schools and parental choice.
And that is why we are working hard to oppose it out of the gate. If you are interested in learning more about this bill, and interested in being involved directly with the organization that we work with that is trying to make some bacon out of it, you can sign up here.
Sincerely,
Dr. Garrow
Principal, Golden View Classical Academy
