State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, has led the charge for a moratorium on opening new charter schools. His plan failed in the regular session of the Indiana General Assembly and must not surface in the special session.

Smith formerly served as a public school principal in Gary. He worries about the public school system losing students to what he considers an overabundance of charter schools in Gary, so his plan would limit new charter schools to one per school district over the next two years.

It is a curious argument -- that too much competition is not good for the public schools.

Gary ranks No. 2 in the state with seven charter schools, second only to the much larger Indianapolis, which has 20.

"I am concerned that these charter schools are not doing as well as public schools," Smith said. State data seem to suggest otherwise.

But even if it were the case, there is recourse. If a charter school doesn't fulfill its mission, the charter can be revoked. That has already happened at least once in Indiana. How many public schools have faced a similar fate despite years of failure?

Fortunately, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is acting quickly, as he should, to hold public schools accountable.

Bennett, who was elected last November to replace the retiring Suellen Reed, said Wednesday the state hopes to provide technical assistance by this fall to schools entering their fourth year of academic probation. Those teams -- which could include community representatives, teachers, superintendents, local officials or special consultants -- will recommend changes.

Northwest Indiana has several schools and school districts that have been on academic probation four straight years. One of them is Campagna Academy Charter School. But there are nine public schools on that list as well.

Smith's efforts to establish a moratorium on new charter schools and to limit funding for them are misguided. Yes, charter schools by their very nature need to be carefully monitored -- which their sponsor, Ball State University, does. But far better than a charter school moratorium would be to make sure public schools meet the same stringent requirements as charter schools -- or face real consequences.

Finally, that seems closer to reality, thanks to Bennett's announcement Wednesday.

But keep pushing hard for this accountability, including opening up more charter schools, when necessary. And impress upon public school administrators, faculty and staff that the Public Law 221 standards the state has set, combined with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, has set performance standards that need to be met.

Education is vital to the success not just of the individual students but also of society. Continued failure is not an option.