Charter School Rally Planned at State Capitol

Parents and activists are set to rally at the state Capitol for high-profile proposed legislation to expand charter schools in Texas.

Organizers expect at least 400 demonstrators for Wednesday's event sponsored by the Texas Charter School Association.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick is sponsoring a bill that would gradually lift the current cap of 215 charters issued statewide, allowing 305 by September 2019.

He originally wanted an unlimited number of charters, but had to scale that back to win Senate approval.

The House has yet to consider the measure.

For now, Texas has 209 charters. Because operators can use a single charter to run multiple campuses, though, the state has 506 total charter schools educating 154,278 children, or around 3 percent of its 5 million-plus public school students. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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