Below, we share a recent political update and forecast from Starlee Coleman, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Coleman’s first meeting of the new year, as she relayed in a recent email to the nation’s charter leaders, was a phone call with McMahon.
Here’s a recap from Coleman of that conversation with McMahon and its potential implications for charter schools:
We had a wide-ranging discussion – from charters and the federal Charter School Program to literacy programs and teacher performance-based bonus laws across the country. We spent a full third of the call talking about her interest in career & technical education programs and other efforts to give students a pathway into the middle class through workforce training. You may recall that I predicted that her personal priority in the role would be to advance these kinds of programs; and based on our call, I think that’s probably what we should expect.
Of course, we talked about the Trump mandate to shrink the footprint of the Department and return decision-making power to the states and schools directly. We talked about how that could, without careful crafting, be a negative for charter schools and public school choice. We talked through how we could create a win-win: both sending decision-making power back to the states while still carving out funds to advance charter growth.
Overall, I was encouraged by the level of detail she brought to the conversation on various topics and her genuine commitment to charters. While I know some of the Trump Administration’s proposed policies will divide the charter community, on charter policy itself, we have a significant opportunity here. We’ve been told the Senate plans to schedule her confirmation hearing quickly – ideally before the end of January.
Once confirmation hearings and the federal budget are done, the U.S. House and Senate will get to work on other legislation. Our team is hustling so that we’re ready to go when they are. In fact, we have already secured bill sponsors in the House for two bills that will dramatically increase the flexibility in the Charter Schools Program. Reps Juan Ciscomani (AZ) & Julia Letlow (LA) will be our lead House sponsors. Their Senate counterparts are also teed up to introduce our bills. We’ll be working with Chairman Bill Cassidy (LA) & Senators Michael Bennett (CO), John Cornyn (TX) and Cory Booker (NJ). Our goal is to always have our bills be introduced with a mix of bipartisan sponsors and 2025 will be no exception.
What’s next?
We’ll share more with you about policy and legislative developments in Washington, D.C., as events warrant. In the meantime, we are honored and delighted to share that the Alliance is sending Director of Government Relations Ben Arcuri to our 2025 Charter Advocacy Summit. Ben will join the Coalition’s own Government Relations Team, providing an overview of the federal landscape for charter schools as well as the U.S. Department of Education. You won’t want to miss this timely and important presentation!
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