Sen. Pearson’s Education Bill Comes Under Fire - “Punishes High Performance”

Senator Ryan Pearson, Chair of the Rhode Island Senate Finance Committee, has again proposed legislation targeting public charter schools -- legislation that he says will benefit students and families and an overwhelming number of critics say the bill is anti-students, and anti-high performance. Pearson has come under criticism for his repeated efforts to block and cut public charter schools.

Pearson who proclaims to be the leading expert on public education admitted to GoLocal in an interview in January that he had actually never visited a public school in Providence -- the state's largest school district. Pearson, a Cumberland Senator, has close ties to teachers unions and has taken tens of thousand in union contributions.

Thursday's hearing on Pearson's bill S-373, which in part would block students in public schools from transferring to lower-performing charter schools, drew a steady stream of criticism and charges that the bill would punish parents and students who seek choice for their families. In some cases, families move children because of better assessment, better faculty, or specific programs.

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Opposition to Pearson's Legislation

Margaret Knowlton, head of the Hope Academy charter schools that serve students from North Providence and Providence in grades K-6, spoke in opposition to the bill. 

"The legislation punishes those that do better," said Knowlton.

She said children from Providence and North Providence who want to attend a public charter school are already being punished as Providence reduced the amount of money following the child to the charter school by 7%.

Sara Anderson, a parent who has two children who attend Providence Public Schools is also a teacher at the high performing Blackstone Valley Prep. 

And said, "I believe in accountability."

She said Pearson's bill has an "outlandish degree of accountability…it does not support children…and creates fiscal uncertainty [for charters]."

Anderson said there is already a rigid five-year renewal process that holds schools accountable. 

“It pits districts against one another,” said Anderson. “It supports the suburban districts.”

Janie Seguí Rodríguez, who is the founder of the pro-education reform group Stop The Wait RI, criticized the legislation.

She is the mother of daughters age 6 and 12 -- they attend the Mayoral Academy schools in Providence.

"It seeks to put a testing requirement on black and brown students," said Seguí Rodríguez. She added that this would break down the existing lottery system and "would this force charter schools to handpick."

Seguí Rodríguez added, "It shouldn’t matter where a child is born. Everyone should have strong school options. Free public charter schools are charter schools...I strongly urge the committee to reject this bill."

According to Pearson, he had a letter for the Rhode Island School Superintendents Association in favor of the legislation, but they did not testify at the hearing.

The legislation was held by the committee in the short term.

 

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