Is it a Language School or a Religious School?

Schools officials at a Hebrew language charter school in south Florida are going to try and open three more charter schools using the same model. The Ben Gamla charter school serves 600 elementary school-aged students and has another ~135 on its waiting list. The school came under scrutiny by their authorizing school district initially and had an independent district-hired expert to examine all of the school's lessons.

One of the commenters on the Miami Herald article about the Ben Gamla charter school wondered what would happen if this were an islamic charter school? Minnesotans know. They have Tarek ibn Ziyad Charter Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. TIZA is an Islamic charter school.

While most public school officials draw the line on teaching religion, there can be a very fine (gray?) line when the school's culture is also rooted in religion. District officials in Florida were wise to have an independent expert monitor the school's curriculum. It appears district officials in Minnesota have struggled with how to provide proper oversight to this unique charter school. Earlier this year the Minnesota Americans Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit against the charter school stating they were teaching religion. A federal judge later dismissed most of the case.

Last week it was revealed that a nonprofit organization associated with TIZA paid for a state legislator's trip to Mecca in 2008. Further, the Minnesota Dept of Education notified TIZA school officials that they would not pay the school any more money until all of the school's teachers were properly licensed only to say it was "an error" two days later and fund the charter school.

TIZA reports higher-than-average test scores and has been recognized for outstanding academic growth by the Northwest Evaluation Association.

Charter school authorizers and policy makers have a unique challenge with atypical charter schools that operate at the threshold of acceptable practices. A key to averting problems is effective performance contracting and transparency. Moreover, authorizers learn from each other and the challenges they face, many of which could rarely be anticipated.