The case for expanding the number of charter schools is predicated on the right of parents to choose the best school for their children (“Lift New York’s charter cap,” New York Daily News, May 27). I support their right to do so, but I hasten to point out that it is not fair to compare charter schools with traditional public schools.
Of course, charter schools are going to post better outcomes. Why shouldn’t they? They play by a completely different set of rules. Traditional public schools must by law admit all students who show up at their door anytime during the school year. Moreover, they can’t by law expel students who for one reason or another are a problem.
If charter schools had to operate the same way, I submit that there would be little difference between the two. Since that will never happen, the entire debate is an exercise in futility.
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