WAIVER DISTRICTS WOULD BE ABLE TO TRY EDUCATION INNOVATIONS FREE OF STATE RESTRICTIONS

House Republicans in Jefferson City have a novel proposal for those local school districts across our state that are doing a good job: Call them "waiver districts" and free them up from many state regulations and controls from Jefferson City.

"The concept behind waiver districts is to reward schools that are doing a good job," said Republican floor leader Delbert Scott of Lowry City. Scott said districts in this category should be able to focus more on excellence in their delivery of education and less on filling out paperwork. We agree.

It sounds like this proposal is similar to one discussed here before: Create charter districts, akin to charter schools that are freed from many state regulations, so that they can innovate. One of the key architects of the Republican proposal, state Rep. Jewell Patek of Chillicothe, agrees. He says that to qualify, a local school district would have to be fully accredited and in compliance with state laws. The state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would still monitor such districts but not to the extent provided through the current five-year performance reviews. And, indeed, DESE already has a tentative proposal to allow strong-performing districts to skip every other scheduled review.

Any such proposal might go a long way toward answering the objections of local superintendents to the spread of charter schools.

The House Republican proposal has great merit. We urge lawmakers to proceed toward its adoption.