COLUMBIA, S.C. — One South Carolina lawmaker is looking to change the state's charter school law to hold the schools more accountable and make them more transparent.
Jessica Crowe enrolled her children in Upstate charter schools because she said it fit their unique learning needs.
“The way public charter schools are growing across the state allows so many other parents to give their students different options," said Crowe.
Her children are among the nearly 50,000 students who attend public charter schools in South Carolina.
According to the Superintendent of the Charter Institute at Erskine, it's only getting bigger, with 24 schools statewide.
“We’re Opening 2,000 student schools and before they even open there are 700-800 students on a waiting list trying to get into the schools, so that’s the kind of demand we’re seeing across the state," said Cameron Runyan.
As more schools come online, Sen. Greg Hembree (R-Horry) is looking to close what he called an Accountability loophole in the state's law.
The 'Charter School Accountability Act' would prohibit any more charter authorizers unless they're approved by the State Department of Education.
Right now, the Department isn't involved in that process. The current law requires them to register, without meeting any regulations or standards.
There are currently three sponsors, or authorizers in the state: The Public Charter School District, Charter Institute at Erskine, and Limestone College.
The bill aims to stop what's called 'Authorizer Shopping'. That's when underperforming charter schools in one charter district might transfer to another district to avoid accountability.
The bill also prohibits schools from switching when their current authorizer is in the process of revoking their charter.
“Ultimately it puts the burden on the school to get their ducks in a row," said Hembree.
The bill also aims to increase transparency by requiring districts to post audits, meetings, financial information, and more on their website.
"I like to know that my authorizer, my charter school student, I can find anything I need to know anything about them and their endeavors and what they're doing and what they're planning on doing at my fingertips," said Crowe.
With just over a month left in the legislative session, Hembree said the bill is unlikely to be signed into law this year.
In 2020, Two charter districts signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to suspend school transfers until September 2023.