When the Michigan Civil Rights Commission adopted a report late last year that recommended charter school students receive three-fourths the funding of a traditional public school student, it was perplexing on several levels. The Civil Rights Commission is supposed to be looking out for the best interests of minority children, why in the world would it be targeting charter school students?
It made no sense, because we had always known that charter schools serve a disproportionately high number of minority students. Now we know just how true that is.”
- Dan Quisenberry, MAPSA President
Researchers from the Grand Valley State University Charter Schools Office recently did a deep dive into enrollment data for all Michigan public schools – charter and traditional – for the 2020-2021 school year. They were specifically looking at a racial breakdown for each type of school.
What they found was:
- 49.5% of students in charter schools are African-American, compared to 14.1% in traditional public schools.
- 9.6% of students in charter schools are Hispanic, compared to 8.0% in traditional public schools.
- 5.8% of students in traditional public schools are English Language Learners, compared to 9.9% in charter schools.
- Just 32.5% of students in charter schools are White, compared to 69.3% in traditional public schools.
The GVSU researchers also looked specifically at the racial breakdown in some of Michigan’s most populous counties. What they found:
- In Wayne County, home to Detroit, 66.9% of students in charter schools are African-American, compared to 34.3% in traditional public schools.
- In Kent County, home to Grand Rapids, 25.1% of students in charter schools are African-American, compared to 12.5% in traditional public schools.
- In Genesee County, home to Flint, 80.0% of students in charter schools are African-American, compared to 19.2% in traditional public schools.
When you look at the data, the message is unmistakable. If you’re looking to lessen the effects of systemic discrimination in our K-12 schools, you certainly don’t want to go after charter schools. These are exactly the schools and students you should be looking to help, not hurt.”
- Dan Quisenberry, MAPSA President
The GVSU enrollment data will be provided to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission in advance of its next meeting, set for March 23. The MCRC has expressed a willingness to look at revising or dropping its recommendation that charter school students be treated as three-fourths of a person when it comes to state funding.
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