What’s next, virginity tests?

We’ve said it before and we need to say it again: Charter schools are not public schools!

Using the trickery of language the state refers to real public schools as traditional schools. They are again trying to pull the “okey doke” on the ignorant and less vigilant. We must push back on taking back the true meaning of public schools which do not allow discrimination and use their resources to serve all children regardless of any special status they might have.

In Monroe, ACLU is legally challenging the Delhi Charter School for its policy of barring pregnant students from school. The school forces girls to take a pregnancy test and if it comes of positive they cannot attend classes. A home-study course is offered. Everyone seems to agree that the policy is discriminatory, if not stupid.

The state department of education says that it is going to investigate NOW, after the fact, to see if there are any other discriminatory policies. But it’s too little, too late. A former school official says that one girl gets kicked out every year. One pregnant girl has already been banned from participating in her graduation ceremony.

The school is being forced to reconsider its policy only because the media and the ACLU made noise. Apparently no one from the Department of Education ever checked to see what the rules and regulations of Delhi Charter School were…which speaks to the heart of the problem.

Charter schools are never held to the same standards of accountability as real public schools on any level. Even those receiving state money in the form of vouchers don’t have to be inspected or reviewed in advance to see if they have the capacity to serve children.

According to the charter school “accountability” measures released recently by Superintendent John White, charter schools with vouchers who don’t perform will not be allowed to expand their student base. In other words, they can keep getting money for the same number of students they failed to serve this year, but won’t be allowed to bring more victims in next year. How’s that for accountability?

Unlike real public schools, charter schools seek the ability to pick and choose which students are worthy of being educated…and which are not. They’ve started with special needs. Now it’s girls and girls who they believe may be pregnant or as the school’s manual says, the “suspect” students.

Who’s next? After all, you know, there are ways to determine if a girl has had an abortion or even if she is still a virgin. Perhaps someone will be stationed at the local theater to ensure that students don’t see the wrong movie. How ‘bout checking their text messages and internet sites for ungodly content?

How far will they go? As far as your state school system allows.

There is a reason why public dollars should go to “real” public schools. Public schools are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of race, class, pregnancy, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, special needs or other factors that are common to the general public.

It’s time to draw the line.

This article was originally published in the August 13, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper