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State Sen. Kate Brophy McGee (R-LD28) is championing Senate Bill 1394, the Charter School Transparency and Accountability Act, in an effort strengthen oversight of public charter schools.

focuses on governance, financial transparency and procurement for public charter schools. The proposal requires each charter school to adopt procurement policies; requires a charter school sponsor to compile and post on a public website outlined information for each school it sponsors and outlines membership and training requirements for a charter school governing body.

Both Republican and Democratic legislators signed onto the bill, and it received bipartisan support in the Senate Education Committee. Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman also registered her support.

鈥淚 was happy to have the opportunity to meet with Sen. Brophy-McGee and offer my input on S.B. 1394, and I want to thank her for working across the aisle during the amendment process,鈥� Hoffman said. 聽鈥淭his legislation is a positive step in the right direction, but charter accountability can and should go further. I鈥檓 encouraged by budget proposals to expand the Charter Board staff to provide more oversight and supports to charter schools and the communities they serve. As I鈥檝e said, the primary responsibility of charter schools is to educate students, not profit at the expense of our communities.鈥�

State Rep. C茅sar Ch谩vez (D) did not sign onto S.B. 1394 but expressed his support throughout the development of the bill.

鈥淚鈥檓 very happy to see that Democrats and Republicans can come together to have a conversation. There鈥檚 a lot of work to be done,鈥� Ch谩vez said. 鈥淢y hope is that we can set aside our differences, politically speaking, and work on something that鈥檚 meaningful for the state, work on something that only benefits the parents and the students and nobody else. We can no longer sit here and fight for one actor or another and pin ourselves against each other. We need to fight for the main foundation of education and that鈥檚 children, that鈥檚 our teachers, that鈥檚 our educators and our parents.鈥�

Working together is key to providing a public education system that benefits Arizona students.

鈥淲hat this is going to do is it鈥檚 going to provide the children of the state of Arizona an opportunity to really get a high-quality education,鈥� Ch谩vez said.

He noted that both public district schools and public charter schools have 鈥渂ad actors鈥� that have hindered the process of coming together and finding solutions to the issue.

鈥淚 think that what the act is going to do if it continues to go through the legislative process is provide students with high-quality education because we鈥檙e going to be able to weed out those bad actors,鈥� Ch谩vez explained.

S.B. 1394 is geared to strengthen the functionality, transparency and accountability of Arizona charter schools which will give students and families more options when choosing a fitting education path.

鈥淲e need to address that parents should have the right to choose the best education for their children,鈥� Ch谩vez said. 鈥淚 am not a parent, but I know that if I had children, I would send them to the best possible education that I could have accessibility to.鈥�

S.B. 1394 is awaiting a vote of the full Senate.