"Establishing the Joint Legislative Charter School Task Force."

There are a few principles that are accepted in our society to be universal. Virtually all Alaskans agree completely that a quality education is one of the greatest gifts we can possibly give our children, our State, and ourselves. A quality education includes, at a minimum, adequate reading, computing, and writing skills. All Alaskans would be utterly delighted if we produced students with the highest National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores. or the highest Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, or the highest score on any other national or international evaluation in the Nation.

It is clear that we must carefully re-evaluate the way we are currently doing business if we hope to, among other things, produce results that meet the minimum legal standards that have been laid down by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Charter schools will be one part of Alaska's education future. They can provide new options for increased public school choice required for failing and at-risk schools. Charter schools may also be designed to provide supplemental services and alternative school governance which are also required by NCLB if schools continue to fail.

SCR 10 establishes a task force tasked to make legislative suggestions on how to improve our weak charter school law. The resolution is written to emphasize the need to consider recommendations for charter school laws in the context of the potential role charter schools can play in continued successful education reform.

Last Updated: 04/22/2003

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