Star Tribune: New Proposals Address Religion in Minnesota Charter Schools

People in Minnesota invented the charter school. An article by SARAH LEMAGIE and NORMAN DRAPER, Star Tribune staff writers, discusses what some may call the next chapter in the development of these institutions - some might call this Charter Schools 2.0 - "Minnesota charter schools are in for a change: As interest in the independently run but publicly funded schools explodes, so does legislators' desire to monitor them more closely."

Among many others, Minnesota has a controversial school, the Islamic Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy. Some have said it violates the laws that prohibit public schools from promoting religion. As we said before, it seems from the press coverage that the school practices thinly disguised subterfuges, to cover up the fact that they are indeed a Muslim school with required religious training and rituals.

The article concludes with the news that state legislators are attempting to address such issues:

Two state proposals deal with religion, Anderson said. One would bar a house of worship from sponsoring a charter school (none does now). Another would require charter schools to follow a state law that currently applies to district schools, which allows students to attend limited religious instruction but only if it's off campus.