Virginia Charter School Establishment Amendment (2016)

Charter School Establishment Amendment

Type| Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
Topic| Education on the ballot

## Contents

* 1 Text of measure
* 1.1 Constitutional changes
* 2 Background
* 3 Support
* 3.1 Arguments
* 4 Opposition
* 4.1 Arguments
* 5 Path to the ballot
* 5.1 First session
* 5.2 Second session
* 6 See also
* 7 External links
* 8 Footnotes

Not on Ballot

This measure was not put
on an election ballot

The Virginia Charter School Establishment Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Virginia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure would have empowered the Virginia Board of Education to establish charter schools within the state's school divisions.[1]

The measure was introduced into the Virginia Legislature by Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26) as Senate Joint Resolution 256.[2]

## Text of measure[edit]

### Constitutional changes[edit]

See also: Article VIII, Virginia Constitution

The measure would have amended Section 5 of Article VIII of the Virginia Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added by the proposed measure's approval [1]

Section 5. Powers and duties of the Board of Education.

The powers and duties of the Board of Education shall be as follows:

(a) Subject to such criteria and conditions as the General Assembly may prescribe, the Board shall divide the Commonwealth into school divisions of such geographical area and school-age population as will promote the realization of the prescribed standards of quality, and shall periodically review the adequacy of existing school divisions for this purpose.

(b) It shall make annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly concerning the condition and needs of public education in the Commonwealth, and shall in such report identify any school divisions which have failed to establish and maintain schools meeting the prescribed standards of quality.

(c) It shall certify to the school board of each division a list of qualified persons for the office of division superintendent of schools, one of whom shall be selected to fill the post by the division school board. In the event a division school board fails to select a division superintendent within the time prescribed by law, the Board of Education shall appoint him.

(d) It shall have authority to approve textbooks and instructional aids and materials for use in courses in the public schools of the Commonwealth.

(e) Subject to such criteria and conditions as the General Assembly may prescribe, it shall have authority to establish charter schools within the school divisions of the Commonwealth.

(f) Subject to the ultimate authority of the General Assembly, the Board shall have primary responsibility and authority for effectuating the educational policy set forth in this Article, and it shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by law.[3]

## Background[edit]

Education policy is a major issue in Virginia. To learn more, see "Public education in Virginia."

See also: Charter schools in Virginia

Charter school legislation was first enacted in Virginia in 1999 and was later amended in 2002 and 2004.[4] The state had a total of three public charter schools in 2009. A fourth charter school opened in July 2010, and as of the 2012-2013 school year, no more had been opened.[5][6]

Charter school authorizers are, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), the organizations "designated to approve, monitor, renew, and, if necessary, close charter schools." As of June 2014, the organizations in the following table were listed by NACSA as charter school authorizers in Virginia:[7]

Virginia charter school authorizers

Organization  | Authorizer type  | Number of schools overseen
Albemarle County Public Schools | Local education agency | 2
Richmond City Public Schools | Local education agency | 1
York County Public Schools | Local education agency | 1
Note: If the total number of charter schools accounted for in this table differs from the total number listed elsewhere on this page, the discrepancy owes to differing calculation methods and data sources.
Source: National Association of Charter School Authorizers, "Virginia Charter Authorizers," accessed June 18, 2014

## Support[edit]

### Arguments[edit]

* Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R-26) claimed that charter schools are in high demand in the region. He elaborated, "There is a line in Washington, D.C. — a 325,000-person line nationwide. Those are moms and dads and kids who are looking for opportunities across the country. And we’ve got those kids and those families here in Virginia. The answer in Virginia is not to make fewer slots available. We’ve got seven charter schools in Virginia — seven."[8]

## Opposition[edit]

### Arguments[edit]

* Sen. Richard L. Saslaw (D-35) argued that charter schools divert money from traditional public schools with no guarantee of academic improvement for students attending the charter schools. He said charter schools in Washington, DC, have poor track records. He elaborated, "At least three or four times a year, you pick up the newspaper and read about a disaster. Our education system was ranked fourth in America. Why would we want to tamper with that?[8]

## Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Amending the Virginia Constitution

A majority vote is required in two successive sessions of the Virginia General Assembly in order for an amendment to be placed on the ballot.

### First session[edit]

On February 5, 2015, the Virginia Senate voted on and approved Senate Joint Resolution 256. The amendment passed along party lines, with the chamber's 21 Republicans voting in favor and 17 Democrats voting against.[9]

The Virginia House of Delegates passed the amendment on February 24, 2015, with 58 representatives voting in favor and 42 voting against.[10]

### Second session[edit]

Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26) reintroduced his amendment as Senate Joint Resolution 6 in 2016. The Virginia State Senate rejected SJ 6 in a 21-19 vote on February 15, 2016.[11]

Rep. Robert Bell (R-58) introduced a separate bill, House Bill 3, also designed to expand charter schools in the state for its second session in November of 2015. On February 15, 2016, Bell's bill passed in the house in a 50-48 vote. It failed, however, in a senate committee.[12][13]

## See also[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* Virginia 2016 ballot measures
* 2016 ballot measures
* Public education in Virginia

## External links[edit]

* Senate Joint Resolution 256

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Virginia Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 256," accessed January 28, 2015
2. ↑ Virginia Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 256 Bill Tracking," accessed January 28, 2015
3. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
4. ↑ Virginia Department of Education, "Code of Virginia Sections Relating to Public Charter Schools," August 12, 2004
5. ↑ Virginia Department of Education, "Public Charter Schools in Virginia," accessed September 30, 2009
6. ↑ National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, "Total Number of Schools: 2012-2013 Virginia," accessed June 25, 2014
7. ↑ National Association of Charter School Authorizers, "Virginia Charter Authorizers," accessed June 18, 2014
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Washington Post, "Va. Senate passes proposed amendments to the constitution," February 4, 2015
9. ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Virginia Senate passes constitutional amendment on charter schools," February 4, 2015
10. ↑ Virginia Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 256 House Vote," accessed March 6, 2015
11. ↑ Open States, "Senate Joint Resolution 6 (2016)," accessed March 8, 2016
12. ↑ Virginia General Assembly, "HB 3 Constitutional amendment," accessed March 6, 2016
13. ↑ Richmond Times Dispatch, "Two charter school bills fail to advance," February 24, 2016

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