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Friday, November 30, 2012

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yeah? What If They Don't?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yeah? What If They Don't?:


Yeah? What If They Don't?

There's a lot of talk about accountability and why we can't seem to be able to hold anyone accountable in culture of public K-12 education. I think the lack of accountability is built into the system - at every level.

Not MY Job, Man! I just buy them...

Take, for example, the new charter school law, I-1240. It's full of requirements. For example, the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house have until March 6, 2013 to appoint members of the charter school commission. Yeah? What if they don't? What if they don't make the appointments? Then what? There are no penalties prescribed, no back-up plan, no process to address that contingency. I suppose someone could initiate some kind of legal action against any of them for failure to fulfill the duties of their office, but that won't force a quick appointment, and who would have standing to bring the action?

I'm not saying this to encourage these public officials to refuse to take an action required by law, although I