The Democrat-majority Senate Committee on Education approved bills on Wednesday that critics say would add “onerous” oversight requirements on public charter schools, harming their ability to operate and hinder students’ learning opportunities. The bills will now advance to a vote in the Michigan House of Representatives.

One leading lawmaker says the committee Democrats’ approach to passing Senate Bills 943, 944, 946 and 947 is as egregious as the bills themselves. State Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said he “simply cannot believe what occurred” during the committee meeting.

“We literally watched the committee chair attack the entire premise of for-profit corporations, the bedrock of the American economy and the source of innovation that made us a great nation,” Damoose said in a statement. “These bills lash out against our state’s charter school system. If they are enacted into law, make no mistake, many charter schools will likely close their doors, taking away successful options for parents and their children.”

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Damoose continued: “Remember that in 1999, public schools in Detroit were so badly mismanaged and the outcomes were so dreadful that the state took control of the entire district,” Damoose added. “Today, more than 50% of all public school students in Detroit attend charter schools, many of which hire outside contractors to run the schools and manage the facilities. These charter schools have the best results in all of Detroit and have been critical to helping turn around that previously failing educational system.”

Five of the seven people who presented testimony on the measures, including Pamela Pugh, president of the Michigan State Board of Education, and Sue Carnell, chief deputy superintendent of the Michigan Department of Education, had no position. The remaining two opposed the measure.

In written testimony to the board, one parent opposed the measure, saying they wanted “to provide the best education for my child, regardless [of] where I live, what income I have.”

“Not all schools are fit for certain individuals, therefore I must have a choice to select what is most suitable for my child,” the parent said.

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“What reason does the government have to restrict the education of a student?” the parent added. “The U.S. is supposed to be a democratic country where you have [freedom] of speech, freedom of religion, but they want to dictate what school a child has to go to.”

Damoose said charter schools will face additional scrutiny beyond what traditional public school vendors experience.

SB 947 bars charter schools from inking lease or purchase agreements with the school’s educational management organization or anyone affiliated. It also mandates that charter schools notify the superintendent of public instruction or the State Board of Education if the requirements are not followed.

SB 944 requires educational management organizations annually to provide charter schools’ boards of directors audited financial statements and fringe benefit details for employees, officers or board members making more than $100,000 per year. It also requires charter schools to make the information publicly available on their websites.

“If passed, these bills would strip charter public schools of local control and hand key decision-making to Lansing bureaucrats,” Michigan Association of Public School Academies-Michigan’s Charter School Association President Dan Quisenberry said in a statement. “Charter public schools manage their finances responsibly and hold them academically and financially accountable. Lansing does not need to step in where your schools are already doing exceptional work.”

Unlike traditional public schools, Damoose noted that charter schools cannot raise millage rates to raise additional money.

“Many parents in our state have made their voices clear: They want these options to be available,” Damoose said. “To me, this is nothing more than legislating winners and losers, and it is based on a false narrative. I find the implication from the chair of the committee that charter schools only exist for the purpose of robbing the taxpayers both offensive and misleading.

“A contentious committee hearing where members’ questions were scoffed at and disregarded is not an acceptable way to govern,” Damoose added, saying he plans to vote no when the bills hit the full Senate floor. “Transparency requires discussion and debate, and that’s not what we were presented with during the committee hearing this afternoon.”