During the current special session of the Indiana General Assembly, a great deal of discussion has centered on limiting charter school growth throughout the state. Much of the rationale for support of a moratorium is misleading and ill-conceived. The effects of caps would be devastating to children, all school districts and urban communities.

President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, both supporters of charter schools, have stated that they are willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in states that want to do the “right thing” by fostering innovation in education. One specific area they will watch is a state’s willingness to increase the number of high-quality charter schools.

A U.S. Department of Education news release this week said Indiana is playing a risky game by considering charter caps. From the release: “In Indiana, the legislature is considering a moratorium on new charter schools. These actions are restricting reforms, limiting choices for parents and students and denying children access to new high-quality instruction.”

In the past two weeks, both the mayor of Boston and the Illinois General Assembly, both traditional charter opponents, have turned course and embraced charter schools under threat of losing federal education dollars. Will the Indiana General Assembly show the courage to do the same?

The funding at stake is the federal “Race to the Top Fund,” $4.35 billion set aside for states to expand high-quality education, including public charter schools. Important to know is that this fund would be available to traditional public school districts as well. So, politicians wanting to slow down the growth of charter schools may lose tens of millions in funding for their traditional school districts as well.

Arguments against charter schools most often center on performance and funding. A recent Journal Gazette editorial cited concerns of legislators regarding the degree of rigor in the authorization process of Indiana charter schools. This is simply inaccurate. Indiana’s primary charter school authorizers, Ball State University and the Indianapolis mayor, are known for their rigorous process to ensure high-quality charter schools.

In fact, fewer than 20 percent of all applicants to the Indianapolis mayor have been authorized. Most important, however, is that not only do these authorizers have a strict process up front, but also, every charter school faces the threat of closure if it fails to meet academic performance standards. Charter schools have been closed in Indiana for failure to deliver results; can traditional public schools say the same?

Much of the criticism has centered on the financial drain charter schools bring to existing public schools as a result of pulling students from the current system. This is puzzling because a simple search of the data indicates that the majority of students who leave Fort Wayne Community Schools and Indianapolis Public Schools do not go to charters. For instance, the majority of students leaving Fort Wayne Community Schools go to outlying suburban and rural public schools. Only 20 percent enroll in charter schools.

Essentially, parents and children are leaving the city schools with or without charter schools. So any argument for maintaining the status quo will not protect the city public schools from financial loss. And a charter school moratorium would certainly be a loss of federal money for all Indiana public schools.

The real argument boils down to three issues: choice, cost and community. Charter schools provide a choice to parents and students locally. By curtailing flight to the suburbs, charter schools are strengthening communities. Also, since charter schools receive no local tax dollars, they strengthen these communities at a lower cost to residents.

Charter schools are sustaining communities, offering options, increasing accountability and reducing costs to the taxpayer. No one should oppose that.