By: Anna Boyd

OHIO, Oct 27: Ohio introduced a bill to require all charter schools to be non-profits. This is a bipartisan bill that is being introduced again. Charter schools are public schools that are tuition-free. This bill would affect 150 of the charter schools that are currently run by for-profit operators.

If this is passed all charter school operators would be nonprofit by 2023. They would be audited like public schools and their books would be public records. Eliminating the profit motive would allow more money to go into student education.

Representative Jeffery Crossman said, “It’s up to us to remind folks that we still have this glaring hole in public accountability over our charter school system that takes on millions of dollars every year from our public tax dollars and redirects it away from our current public school system.”

This bill was first introduced in March of 2020 before the hit of the pandemic. The bill was then and still is sponsored by Rep. Crossman and Rep. Gayle Manning.

In 2018 the largest online charter school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow or ECOT, closed. This caused a stir of court battles that piled up $60 million in state overpayments for students that were enrolled but not doing the work. Ohio Supreme Court closed this case saying it couldn’t be challenged because the decision was final.

Charter schools have had lower test scores and grades on repost cards than public schools. However, a report from last year states that the charter students outperformed public schools.

Charter schools are argued everywhere that they are as to whether they do anything good for students or not. Many feel that thousands of dollars are being wasted on these schools for the education to not be up to standards.