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Some of Michigan Democrats鈥� long-sought reforms could come to fruition by the end of the year.

The party wants to use its lame duck session to by making financial audits and individual expenditures available to the public. Also on the table is a bill that would to the schools they run.

鈥� the state was among the first in the nation to pass laws allowing them. They were pitched as a tool of innovation in public education and a means to give parents more school options. .

Michigan鈥檚 charter schools, which are also known as public school academies, faced legal challenges early on from opponents who contended that charters weren鈥檛 public schools and shouldn鈥檛 receive public funding.

Charters must follow state and federal education law.

Charter schools often hire for-profit education management organizations, or EMOs, to run the entire operations of a school, or handle specific tasks like finance or human resources.

The private EMOs are not subject to the same public information laws as traditional public schools. Unlike traditional public schools, for instance, charter schools often aggregate their expenditures into a single line item for 鈥減urchased services,鈥� which can make it difficult to track their spending.

Democrats have been skeptical of for-profit EMOs, saying they pocket tax dollars instead of investing the funds in classrooms. Republicans have opposed efforts to increase transparency in charters鈥� operations, however, arguing it could hinder the schools鈥� growth.

The history of charter schools in Michigan is long and complex. Here is a timeline of some major events:

This story was originally published at Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

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