Florida confronts question of who decides on charter schools

Watchdog reports:

Does TD Bank get to decide if Wells Fargo can open a branch down the street? Can Starbucks nix a neighborhood Dunkin’ Donuts? That’s essentially the situation in Florida and other states where local school boards can determine if a public charter school can open in their district or county.

Some lawmakers are trying to change that.

The state House of Representatives will consider two school choice measures during the current legislative session, including one that would amend the state constitution to establish a state entity to approve charter schools, rather than leaving the task to local school boards.

Bill Mattox, director of the J. Stanley Marshall Center for Educational Options at the James Madison Institute, says the state’s existing process is fraught with conflicts of interest.

“The problem charter school advocates have been pointing to for a long time is that this is kind of like McDonald’s having to go to Burger King to get approval to open down the street,” said Mattox.

The struggles of monopoly.