The House of Representatives approved the Success and Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Act on Friday with an amendment introduced by Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
The Success and Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Act would support expansion of successful charter school models, facilitate sharing of best practices and encourage charter schools to reach out to new student demographics.
The amendment introduced by Cassidy would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to track funding to ensure that funds allocated for administrative costs are appropriate.
“Louisiana has embraced charter schools because they give parents the power to make the best education decisions for their children,” Cassidy said. “Charter schools allow teachers to adapt their curriculum to meet their student’s needs. But we need to ensure that taxpayer dollars are going to classrooms, not bureaucracy. Dollars for education should be spent in the classroom, not the back office.”
The amendment is designed to establish a framework that bypasses state and federal bureaucracies to give Congress a clear picture of whether funds for administrative functions are used efficiently.
Under the amendment, the comptroller general would be required to report on state administrative costs within three years of the Success and Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Act being signed into law. The comptroller general would also be directed to provide recommendations if administrative costs are deemed inappropriate.