Watch the clip of State Sen. Perkins denying the facts

Brooks Garber of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools highlights Bill Perkins's endless lies (see http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/03/in-harlem-epicenter-for-charter-schools.html, http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/03/senator-perkins-on-morning-joe.html, and http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/03/senator-perkins-imitating-tail-gunner.html):

Recently, New York state Senator Bill Perkins from Harlem went on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show to defend his opposition to charter schools. When presented with statistics from a Stanford University study and results from the state-administered tests demonstrating the success of New York City's charter schools, Perkins, much to the bewilderment of the panel, completely dismissed the facts and even went so far as to suggest "cheating and test-fixing" on the part of NYC charter schools.

http://www.youtube.com/publiccharters

Here are a few additional misstatements made by Perkins during the interview not included in the clip: 

"They [charter schools] are unregulated, and as a result of that aspect of their lack of regulation we've encountered some problems that we are going to be looking at through the hearings that I'll be having on the 22^nd." 

This is incorrect. Charter schools are highly-regulated entities, governed by Articles 56 and 65 of the NY Education Law; the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and state laws governing Open Meetings and Freedom of Information; and other applicable laws. Charter schools also must pass rigorous annual inspections and must achieve goals outlined in detailed accountability plans or face closure. 

"Frederick Douglass Academy, which is a traditional public high school, has an outstanding record of accomplishment." 

This is incorrect. Frederick Douglass is in fact NOT a traditional public school.  It is a selective public school. 

"We want to look at charter schools because for 10 years we've had them, we've never looked at them." 

The New York State Education Department (which reports to the NY state legislature-appointed Board of Regents) has issued an Annual Report to the Governor and Legislature, which by law provides enormous detail on charter school data, including test scores, finances and student demographics.

What Works Clearinghouse's Quick Review of National Bureau of Economic Research study flies in the face of Senator Perkins' claims

"Students [lotteried into Promise Academy charter school] had higher math test scores in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades than the students not offered enrollment. By the time they were tested in eighth grade, the effect size for the math test was 0.55. The [U.S. Dept. of Education's] WWC interprets this as equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 71st percentile". See the full results of the WWC review here

 Sen. Perkins is playing politics, putting his political ambitions in front of the families he represents.  We hope you will take the time to watch our highlights from the segment and pass them along to your friends and colleagues.  We need the truth to come out about the successes of public charter schools across the country, and the true motivations of those who oppose them! To watch the full interview from "Morning Joe" click here.

Sincerely,

Brooks Garber

Vice President for Federal Advocacy
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
www.publiccharters.org