Alexander Schmid Podcast

In recent days, following strikes in both Oakland and Los Angeles, teachers unions have demanded increasingly onerous restrictions be placed on California charter schools while also increasingly demonizing charter schools based on misinformation. Some of the common claims made and addressed in this podcast are the following: (a) charter schools are not public and do not choose a representative sample of the population; (b) charter schools siphon necessary resources from traditional public schools and only serve caucasian populations, and (c) charter schools function to serve corporate interests at the expense of students, particularly underserved students. None of these positions is tenable in light of the data below and the reasoning shared.  Sources: 1) https://edsource.org/2019/proposed-legislation-would-substantially-curb-growth-of-california-charter-schools/609087 2) http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1507 3) http://www.publiccharters.org/sites/default/