Outside the Box: I Knew I Liked Ohioans

"Republican House Speaker Jon Husted, a charter school supporter, [has] asked the Ohio Department of Education" a provocative question. [Thanks to edspresso.com for the heads up.] Someone in South Carolina needs to pay attention:

[From The Columbus Dispatch]

Two Ohio charter schools will shut their doors for good next spring, the first casualties of a new law targeting chronically failing schools. The rules apply only to tax-funded, privately operated charter schools. What if traditional public schools had to meet the same requirements? [italics mine]

That's a question Republican House Speaker Jon Husted, a charter school supporter, asked the Ohio Department of Education. The answer: 16 traditional public schools would be forced to close, including four in Columbus. The rest are in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown.

The 16 schools are about 0.5 percent of the roughly 3,400 statewide. That's a slightly lower percentage than the two failing charter schools which are among 337 in Ohio.

Under the new rules, charter schools receiving an F for academic performance in three consecutive years and showing no improvement must close. Some charter-school advocates argue that the same rules should apply to all schools.

Fair is fair, right?