Matt Viser of the Boston Globe reported yesterday that Governor Deval Patrick will unveil a proposal for a new type of public school that will resemble in some fashion charter or pilot schools. From the Globe:

Governor Deval Patrick, in a potential break with the teachers unions that helped elect him, is set to propose a new form of public school that would assume unprecedented control over matters ranging from curriculum and hiring decisions to policies on school uniforms and the length of the school year.
The governor’s proposal for “readiness schools,” a key element of his sweeping 10-year education plan to be unveiled later this month, aims to combine features of the state’s charter schools and Boston’s experimental pilot schools. Governed by local boards and freed from many constraints imposed by unions, school districts, and the state, the readiness schools would adapt to community needs and offer new alternatives in school systems across the state, administration officials said yesterday.

These new readiness schools would be governed locally, rather than by the state.

Like charter schools, which have been operating in Massachusetts since 1993, readiness schools would be allowed to deviate from state curriculum guidelines and experiment with teaching practices. Unlike most charter schools, which are governed by the state, they would report to local school committees. Also unlike charter schools, readiness schools could be created from existing public schools, according to the plan.

The formal proposal will not come until January,and the Globe story speculates that there may be teacher union opposition to this proposal. But will there be? The Governor has not shown a great appetite for union conflict up to this point. Will there be a deal made on capping charter schools that will induce some union support? The devil is in the details. Read the Globe story here.