In 2000, Vice President Al Gore ran for president as a Democrat on an education plan that called for tripling the number of the nation鈥檚 charter schools 鈥攁 plan that was mirrored in his party鈥檚 platform that year.
Nearly two decades later, many of the busload of politicians seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are hesitant to say anything positive about charters, and some have sought to distinguish themselves through sharp critiques and even calls for a national moratorium on the publicly funded, privately operated schools. It鈥檚 been one of the most notable education talking points in the primary.
A look at the two major parties鈥� platforms in the years since the first charter school law was passed shows that Democrats first supported charters as an alternative to private school vouchers, which were supported by both Sen. Bob Dole in his 1996 GOP bid for the White House and by former President George W. Bush during his 2000 campaign.
You can see the evolution of the platform language in the chart below and explore the changes for yourself.
鈥淲e should expand public school choice, but we should not take American tax dollars from public schools and give them to private schools,鈥� says the Democrats鈥� 1996 platform in its first mention of charter schools since Minnesota passed the first state charter law in 1991. 鈥淲e should promote public charter schools that are held to the highest standards of accountability and access.鈥�
But the party has added conditions to its support of the concept, at least in print, while Republicans have largely remained consistent in lauding both private-school vouchers and charters.
Some highlights:
- In 2004, Republicans鈥� support for charters included a call for assistance with facilities, a major issue for the sector.
- In 2008, Democrats specifically mentioned promoting charter schools 鈥渢hat are accountable,鈥� along with other priorities, like reforming teacher-preparation programs.
- In 2012, Republicans listed virtual schools among the options they supported. Concerns about accountability of virtual charter schools have divided some in the school choice advocacy community.
- In 2016, the Democratic platform included opposition to charter schools managed by for-profit organizations, calls for 鈥渋ncreased transparency and accountability for all charter schools,鈥� and a statement that 鈥渃harter schools must reflect their communities鈥� by enrolling proportionate numbers of students of color, students with disabilities, and English-language learners.
Recent Democratic Platform Shifts on 91制片厂视频 Schools
Since Gore called for tripling charter schools in 2000, has grown from 2,000 to about 7,000, federal data show.
The shifts in opinion among Democrats run parallel to changes in the charter sector itself, changes covered well by 91制片厂视频 Week reporter Arianna Prothero in this 2016 story on the 25th anniversary of the original state charter law. While it started small, today鈥檚 charter sector has 鈥渢housands of schools, millions of students, a cadre of deep-pocketed benefactors, dozens of advocacy groups, and sophisticated networks of schools that in some cases dwarf the nation鈥檚 average-size school district,鈥� Prothero wrote.
Recent campaign rhetoric doesn鈥檛 match the policies of the most-recent Democratic president. In the last decade, civil rights groups criticized President Barack Obama鈥檚 91制片厂视频 Department for its . And 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton changed course
What has led to the shift? People on both sides of the charter debate are quick to answer.
Maybe Democratic candidates are now seeking to pull away from a crowded field in hopes of a , which are critical of charter schools, some have argued. Maybe the shift is reflective of a concern that, as the charter sector has grown, systems of accountability and oversight have not kept up. Maybe U.S. Secretary of 91制片厂视频 Betsy DeVos, a highly divisive and highly visible advocate of all forms of school choice, has pushed the issue further into the mainstream debate. Maybe voters, wary of how some states鈥� education funding , are more critical of how those funds are spent. Maybe voters in areas with few or no charter schools aren鈥檛 aware of their successes or don鈥檛 fully understand the concept, some say.
What will the party platform look like in 2020? It may very well depend on who Democrats select as their nominee. While Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., drew a line in the sand with an aggressive plan that called for , candidates like former Texas Congressman Beto O鈥橰ourke and New Jersey Sen. have faced questions about their past involvement with charter schools.
Booker brushed aside a question about charters at an Iowa event in February, saying they represent a small proportion of all schools and he wants 鈥済reat public education for all of our children.鈥� O鈥橰ourke, whose wife, Amy, founded a charter school, said in April that there is 鈥渞eal value鈥� in charter schools that are run by nonprofit organizations and share their ideas, but 鈥渨e cannot charter our way out of public school challenges.鈥�
The current Democratic front runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, . In response to a question at a teachers鈥� union event, he said only that he doesn鈥檛 support federal funding for 鈥渇or-profit鈥� charters.
For all of the discussion, , with larger concentrations in some cities and states. And voters themselves often have that are informed by their own experiences. In the case of charter schools, those opinions can be complicated and don鈥檛 always split along typical political fault lines. A poll released in May by Democrats For 91制片厂视频 Reform, which supports charters, found that 51 percent of Democratic primary voters had an unfavorable view of charter schools, compared to 28 percent of all presidential voters. Black and Hispanic Democrats were much more likely than their white peers, the poll found.
As candidates announce further education plans, it will be interesting to see how they address the issue and how the debate shapes up on other priorities, like teacher pay, Title I funding, and civil rights enforcement.