EDITORIAL: Democrats should keep their hands off charter schools

If political meddling improved education, there would be no need for charter schools.

On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee heard Senate Bill 318. Sponsored by state Sen. Skip Daly, D-Sparks, it would impose new regulations on charter schools. If passed, charter schools could not use education management organizations, for-profit companies that provide centralized services to charters, including instruction and administrative duties.

The bill would also force charter schools to pay prevailing wages on all construction projects that cost more than $100,000. Prevailing wages usually significantly exceed market wages, which is why unions need the government to mandate them. A charter school that doesn’t pay artificially inflated construction costs would face thousands of dollars in fines. So Democrats want to fine charter schools for saving money on building costs.

This isn’t the only intrusion charters face. This month, the Senate Education Committee heard Senate Bill 277. State Sen. Michelee Cruz-Crawford, D-Las Vegas, wants to force charters in Clark County to employ a full-time social worker to the extent money is available.

These bills undermine the rationale for charter campuses. In exchange for meeting certain benchmarks, charter schools don’t have to follow all the rules and regulations imposed on traditional public schools. This freedom encourages innovation and experimentation. If a charter doesn’t deliver results, government officials can shut them down. That’s accountability. Whether a charter school wishes to hire a social worker should be a matter of priorities, not a heavy-handed government mandate.

Charter schools have grown tremendously in Nevada. Last year, combined enrollment at charters governed by the State Public Charter School Authority topped 60,000. They’re helping students as well. The proficiency rate at charter schools is 13 percentage points higher than in traditional public schools in both English and math.

Yet instead of trying to help charter schools grow, Democrats want to saddle them with regulations. Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said Tuesday that she wants to ensure “charter schools that receive public money are held to the same high standards that our public schools are held to.” If her long-rumored bid for attorney general doesn’t work out, Ms. Cannizzaro should consider a career in stand-up. Claiming charter schools need to live up to the high standards of public schools is either a laugh line or dark comedy. When is the last time a traditional public school was shuttered for performance issues?

Democrats shouldn’t be trying to make charter schools more like traditional public schools. Even if their union allies in the educational establishment object, they should be trying to make traditional public schools more like charter schools.