Good day, CharterFolk.
Today we are pleased to provide a Contributor Column from Cathy Kincheloe, Director of Planning a the Community Choice Schools Commission in Montana
We provide a bio for Cathy below.
Cathy Kincheloe joined the charter movement in her home state of Minnesota in 1997 as a teacher in a start-up with little to no knowledge of what makes a charter school different from other public schools. Under the guidance of an exceptional leader, she learned the difference quickly: students first. With that principle within her, she grew into leadership roles with national charter management organizations contributing the start-up of nine charters throughout the urban centers of the Midwest, several closing achievement gaps. In 2023 with Montana now as her home, charter law was passed or more accurately, charter laws were passed drawing her back to the movement initially as a member of the state authorizing Commission and currently the Director. From the first state with charter law to the 46th, she is thrilled to be building Montana’s ecosystem for chartering.
In her column, Cathy references CHINO (charter-in-name-only) schools, and CABIN (charter-all-but-in-name) schools. For more background about the use of those terms, please see this post from 2022 where we first coined the terms, or this recent column which specifically addressed how the terms apply in Montana.
Building a CABIN in Montana
“The bill to allow for private charter schools in Montana which passed in the 2023 legislature was challenged in court and it is not in effect as the lawsuit is ongoing.” This is from a recent newspaper article covering the latest application round for Montana’s Public Charter Schools. We have a serious CHINO and CABIN conundrum in Montana.
In the 2023 Montana legislative session, two charter school laws were passed, one is in operation and the other held up in the courts. Any guesses as to which is held up in the courts? The CABIN, the Community Choice Schools Act. The naming of these laws has created great confusion. The CHINO law is titled Public Charter Schools and allows districts to create charter “schools” operating under their existing school board. This has created the misconception that charters are a part of the public education landscape in Montana. There are over 20 PCS across Montana, all but a few are supplementing the growth of pre-existing programs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of more quality public school options for kids, but many of our state education leaders do not fully understand we are lacking true charter schools and the opportunities entailed. At a recent public meeting, one legislator asked a PCS leader if he has experienced charters as the tide that raises all ships. Being so unfamiliar with true chartering, the school leader clearly did not understand what the legislator was referring to in his question. The fear is that there may be legislators who do not understand that Montana does not yet have charter schools.
The true charter school law, Community Choice Schools, our CABIN law, has been tied up in court since July of 2023. Soon after the bill passed into law a lobbying group made up of the teachers’ union, the Montana School Board Association and other education-establishment groups, filed a lawsuit claiming the law is unconstitutional. This story has been told before. A district court judge denied a full injunction request, and recognizing there is no harm caused by allowing the state authorizing Commission to assemble and prepare policy for the eventual charter system, the judge allowed the Commission to do all but authorize schools. The judge is questioning three aspects of the law: the publicness of charters; the internal elections of governing board members limited to the charter school community; and the role of the Board of Public Education in providing “general supervision” over the Commission. Oral arguments were heard in February of 2025; the state is still awaiting a ruling.
While the lawsuit prevents schools from opening, it has granted the Commission the gift of time to properly prepare for authorizing. Under the leadership of a board chair who refuses to quit and who sees opportunity where most see barriers, the Commission immediately got to work and began meeting in September of 2023. We initially held monthly meetings packed with presentations from the national charter community to educate the members and the state about the great responsibility of charter school authorizing. All this was accomplished without state funding as the Commission is also tasked with raising its own funds.
A year ago, the Commission was awarded a grant to fund a director’s position. I was more than thrilled to fill that position, with the chartering spark reignited in my work as a Commission member. The Commission is making great progress in building out systems for chartering with the support of national partners. All policies and resources for the application, oversight, and renewal of CCS are complete, and we are prepared to open a Request for Proposals should the judge rule in our favor. We are incredibly grateful for the collaboration with national authorizing organizations to include best practice in authorizing, ensuring fair, transparent, and comprehensive processes. In addition, the Commission was just awarded a second round of grant funding to build out the Year Zero start-up support program in 2026.
The hidden gem of being 46th is learning from all who have come ahead of us. At conferences this past year, I’ve enjoyed asking new colleagues: What are you currently working to change and what would you change if you were allowed the freedom? I’ve had the fortune to combine thoughts from these conversations with sessions attended at the national conferences and insight from our partners at NCSI, NACSA, and NAPCS, to build out the CCS law and inform the design of a chartering ecosystem that best supports Montana.
Time has been a gift for the Commission, but we recognize the frustration on the part of founders and families. A handful of potential founders are working to develop their models, two are aimed at closing the American Indian achievement gap which is vast in Montana. As a long time member of the charter movement, these models speak to my why; engaging students most in need. One potential founder is backed with national support as a NACA Inspired Fellow looking to open a Sioux dialect tribal immersion school. The other, a former public-school teacher with a trades apprenticeship model ready to implement, was invited to the Crow community this past summer to teach high school students the construction trade backed by a grant to build tiny homes for a family recovery center. While they wait, parents also wait; their kindergartners are now second graders, juniors are past high school age.
We’re seeing the intent of the law come to life already in the schools proposed to close the American Indian achievement gap. Another intent of the law, to encourage different educational models across the public education system, was recently highlighted when the work of a potential CCS founder was noted as an inspiration by a “Public Charter School” applicant looking to develop project-based learning and assessment models. That is exactly how chartering is intended to improve the system of public education.
While Montana’s true charter school law is held up in the courts, common usage of the term “public charter schools” has led the public to believe Montana is a chartering state. If we don’t get the word out as to the value of public schools run independently of existing districts with tremendous freedom from state regulation in exchange for heightened accountability, we risk losing the true opportunity found in chartering. Politicians often try to legislate learning by mandating standards or programs. Learning cannot be legislated. We’ll remain hopeful that true chartering will be legislated, allowing educators the freedom to make decisions closest to the students, leading to schools where students are motivated to learn and educators become trusted professionals who adapt ideas and take responsibility for learning.
Just weeks ago, the Commission met with leaders from the National Charter School Institute to form its guiding values. Top of the list: Students First, Always. The charter movement has evolved over its 34 years, and true to a lasting movement, our greater purpose still rings true. I am proud to be CharterFolk, where students come first. You can count on Montana to hold this value as we launch into the next 30 years of the charter movement. As a small state by population with just over 150,000 public education students and a strong charter law allowing immense freedom from state regulation, we are poised to make an impact on the public education system.