Minnesota To Step Up Oversight Of Charter Schools

ST. PAUL, (AP) - Education officials are preparing to step up their oversight of the nonprofits, school districts and colleges that monitor Minnesota's charter schools.

Each of Minnesota's independently run public charter schools has an organization called an authorizer that oversees its finances, academics and operations. The state Department of Education last week notified authorizers about new draft guidelines that detail how the state will monitor them starting next year.

The new evaluations will assemble a wide array of data to gauge how well authorizers are doing their job and hold them accountable for the performance of their charters.

Charlene Briner, the Education Department's chief of staff, says putting the evaluations in place is an important step for ensuring high-quality public schools for every child.