Gov. Bill Haslam effort to grow state's charter schools passes

The state Senate on Wednesday easily cleared the final legislative hurdle for Gov. Bill Haslam's goal to invest more money across the state into charter schools that he says need to grow.

Dubbed the "High Quality Charter Schools Act of 2017," the effort will put $6 million in state money each year for the next three years toward charter school facilities statewide and boost the oversight of charter schools. Shelby County's charter schools will be the biggest beneficiary of the legislation, where more than 13,000 students are enrolled in

The proposed legislation would require districts across the state adhere to national best practices in authorizing charter schools, said Elizabeth Fiveash, assistant commissioner of policy and legislative affairs.

Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, said the state has become a leader and among the fastest improving schools on National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered nationwide, which Kelsey attributed to, in part, successful charter schools.

"It is important to not only have charter schools but to also have high charter schools and to do that we have to have high quality charter school law," he said.

The bill would also allow districts to require a fee from charters based on how many charter schools operate within a district. School boards can levy a 1-3 percent fee of the annual per student state and local allocations depending on how many schools are within the district. The maximum fee is $35,000, according to Kelsey.

There are 104 charter schools total across the state, with Shelby County Schools having authorized the majority of those schools, according to a state spokeswoman.

Shelby has 45, Nashville has 28, the Achievement School District has 26, Hamilton County Schools has four and Knox County Schools has one, according the education department's numbers.

Jason Gonzales contributed. Jake Lowary covers Tennessee politics and state government for the USA Today Network. Reach him at 931-237-1583 or follow him on Twitter @JakeLowary.