The Boston measure would have allowed for a steady increase in enrollment at charter schools in poorly performing districts, which supporters say would have also increased educational options for families. The Massachusetts House of Representatives supported the measure in May with a 114-35 vote. However, state senators questioned the hasty expansion, as well as whether or not charter schools were truly helping develop best educational practices, and killed the proposal in a 13-26 vote

“It was always an open question as to whether the Senate was going to pass it, and as we saw today the votes are not there to lift the cap,” said Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Jamaica Plain) told the State House News Service following the vote. “The membership is just too skeptical about charter schools, but up until last night I think it was a dead heat.”

President of the Boston Foundation, Paul Grogan, in speaking with the News Service called the decision “a moment where we failed to live up to our obligations to the children of Massachusetts and their families.” However, the bill’s defeat received broad union support.

Meanwhile, Louisiana State Bond Commissioners are requesting more information about loan repayment before moving forward on a request to channel public school funds into charter school construction. According to The New Orleans Advocate, lawmakers questioned the use of the state’s Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) to repay construction loans incurred by charter schools. MFP funds currently stand at $3.6 billion and support some 700,000 public school students. These funds go largely to school maintenance as opposed to construction, which is more often funded by millages and property taxes.

Speaking with The New Orleans Advocate, House Appropriations Committee State Representative Jim Fannin (R-Jonesboro) remarked, “We’re going to a financial model with the MFP dollars that I don’t feel comfortable with.”

South Louisiana Charter Foundation President John Pierre countered that two communities, as well as the foundation’s partner, Red Apple LLC, have already used a variation of the method successfully to build new charter schools. The Foundation is currently requesting $1.7 million for two K-6 schools already under construction.

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Despite sponsor, Sen. Lloyd Smucker’s insistence that the amendment “provides assurance…that we are committed to seeing Pennsylvania students receive a top-notch education regardless of the venue,” many groups, including The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, have spoken out against it. Opponents have rallied around a particular provision allowing charter schools to be authorized and renewed by independent entities, such as universities. At present, only the state and school district are authorized to oversee charters.

According to Susan Spicka, co-founder of the public school advocacy group Education Matters, the bill would also allow students from all over the state to enroll in any charter of their choice, even those several districts away. This would require the local school district and taxpayers to bus students to and from the charter school, on top of paying for tuition. She added that the bill would create taxation without representation, and a mandate that taxpayers pay for a system of privately operated charter schools in addition to the traditional public schools they already fund.

On Oct. 29, the Education Law Center also released a report agreeing that the bill “would ultimately gut local control over charter school authorization and growth, encourage unfettered expansion of even poorly operated charter schools, take already underfunded school districts to the brink of financial collapse and remove important accountability tools that school districts can use to ensure charter schools are performing well and equitably serving all kinds of students.”

In response, a group including StudentsFirst, The Black Alliance for Education Options and Philadelphia Charters for Excellence, published a position paper outlining their support for SB 1085. The group admitted the bill needs refining, but stated that it conceptually supports the proposed university authorizers, educator evaluations, removal of enrollment barriers and caps and other provisions. The group calls SB 1085 “a thoughtful and comprehensive step in the right direction.”

Proponents also point to a provision that could save the state roughly $30 million through the prevention of “double dipping” in pension funds and reimbursements, and requires charter schools to return all excess tuition funds to their districts. Together with other funding changes, SB 1085 could save Pennsylvania school districts roughly $150 million over the next two years.

Pennsylvania is currently home to 174 physical charter schools, and an additional 16 based online. More than 40,000 students statewide are currently on charter school waiting lists.

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