House subcommittee divided over charter school expansion, oversight and proposed tax credits

The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education met in Washington, D.C., for a hearing that featured sharply different views on charter schools, including testimony about academic gains at some charters, concerns over segregation and closures, and a proposal to create a federal tax credit to spur charter expansion.

The hearing focused on whether and how federal policy should support charter school growth while protecting equity and civil rights. Committee members and witnesses debated research findings, school demographics, closure rates and several bills that lawmakers said could shape charter expansion, including the High Quality Charter Schools Act and the Educational Choice for Children Act.

Chairman Kiley opened the hearing by calling the subcommittee to order and framing charter schools as a major reform: "Over the past 25 years, charter schools have emerged as the single most impactful reform in American public education," he said, and he urged Congress to consider the High Quality Charter Schools Act, which he said would create "a 75% federal track tax credit for charitable contributions toward the…