Menino files charter school bill

If approved, 10 of Boston’s approximately 140 public schools could undergo such a change, Menino said in an interview yesterday. He added that he hopes the first new charter schools would open a year from this fall. “I’m impatient with the pace of improvement,’’ Menino said. “We need to move forward quicker than we are.’’

Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union, derided the legislation, which was cosponsored by Representative Marie St. Fleur. “The current cooperative structure between teachers and management has shown it can accomplish much of what Menino is proposing,’’ Stutman said.

The mayor first pitched the idea of the in-district charter schools last month as a way to close a persistent achievement gap between different groups of students. The in-district charters would run much like the state’s charter school program, which promotes education innovation by loosening the regulations under which the schools operate.

But in a key difference between the two school types, local school committees, rather than the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, would have the power to establish the in-district charters.

The legislation was filed as Governor Deval Patrick prepares to file his own bill that could lead to the takeover of about 30 underperforming schools across the state. Under that proposal, the state would convert the schools into charter-like schools and hand them back to the districts to run as prescribed or to a third party to operate.

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.