Talk:Alberta charter schools
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[edit] Mother Earth’s Children’s Charter School
This charter school was excluded because:
- The official web site is "under construction"
- When looking at summaries of reports filed with the province, I didn't see the school included.
- The one spot where I found their name (in the same report), was in reference to ECS(Kindergarden) program.
Anyway, I don't know what the status is, so didn't include it, despite the fact it does appear on the province's web site, as a charter school. This could be my mistake. --rob 13:42, 24 August 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Charter schools are a type of private school
In Alberta, the School Act, section 31, says: "31(1) A person or society may apply to the Minister for the establishment of a charter school to be operated by a society incorporated under the Societies Act or a company registered under Part 9 of the Companies Act." That is, in Alberta, charter schools are operated by a society or not-for-profit corporation; they are not operated by a public school authority. In Alberta, a charter school may not use the word "public" in its name. Legally, they are a class of private school.
In addition, the facilities used by charter schools, in Alberta, are not, in any case that I know of, owned by the provincial government. In most cases, the school facilities used by charter schools are owned by a public school or separate school district, and they are being used by the charter school subject to a direction or authorization from the Minister of Education.
The reason we don't call separate and/or francophone school authorities private is that they have a universal electorate within a described population, and the board of a separate and/or francophone school authority is elected according to the Local Authorities Election Act, and may be removed by the Minister according to the provisions of the School Act. The Board of a charter school is not accountable to a universal electorate, it is not elected according to the Local Authorities Elections Act, and the Minister, while he may terminate a charter, may not remove the Board of a charter school from office.
By corporate organization, by exclusion from the provisions of the Local Authorities Election Act, and by freedom from the threat of removal of the Board by the Minister, charter schools, at least in Alberta, are private institutions. A similarly careful analysis of the charter school provisions in American states would lead to a similar conclusion.
David King 23:54, 2 April 2006 (UTC)
- As mentioned on your talk page see Alberta charter school handbook (PDF File) page 1. It states "'What is a Charter School? A charter school is a public school that provides a basic education in a different or enhanced way to improve student learning." (my emphasis). Also, read the rest of the guide, about accoutnability issues. Charter schools in Alberta are officially designated public by the province, who is the *sole* authority on the matter. This article is based on the guide, and I'd be happy to hear of anything that disagrees with it. --Rob 02:08, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
- Added: I would point out, that pretty much every single charter school in Alberta explcitly refers to itself as public, in their web site, and other documents. If that was false, then surely the districts could pursue legal action over "false advertising". It seems its only some public school districts who like to have a monopoly on the term. --Rob 02:15, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
I've added a footnote after the term "public school", to clarify the source of the term. Ideally, more sources can be added. Ideally, this article, should be expanded to include coverage over debates regarding charters, including debates about how "public" they really are. --Rob 06:18, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] U.S. practice is not a useful guide for Canada
Whether charter schools are public or private (they're public) in the U.S. does not bear directly on their legal status in Canada, because the situation in Canada is drastically different from that in the United States. In the United States, private schools do not receive government money, so any school which does is a public school. In Canada, the distinction between public and private schools is different. (I know that local school boards in the U.S. sometimes give money to parents who place their special-needs kids in private schools, but the money technically goes to the parent as a reimbursement for services that the local public school is required to provide, but cannot internally. The money technically does not go to the school.) Argyriou 18:49, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
- A reply is at Talk:Charter school#Charter schools are a type of private school. The relevant point, specific to Alberta, is the Alberta government defines Charters as being public. --Rob 20:33, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
