Center for Ed Reform Examines Charter School Laws Nationwide

The Center for Education Reform has analyzed and compared charter school laws state by state in a comprehensive report.

The Center for Education Reform, a major advocate for structural change in the US education system, has released its thirteenth annual analysis of laws countrywide.

“Charter schools — public schools, open by choice, accountable for results and free from most rules and regulations that stifle progress in traditional schools — are permitted in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and yet the conditions for success in those states compromise the availability of great new public schools that parents and students most need and deserve,” said CER President Jeanne Allen

The 2012 report compares each law against national benchmarks to measure the impact of current charter school policies on the creation of long-term healthy charter schools. It identifies the components within the charter school system that are likely to lead to sustainable success and which states have them in place. For example, Washington, Minnesota and Indiana have created multiple independent authorizers and fiscal equity, whereas Virginia and Georgia have failed to ensure operational freedom, equity or alternate paths to authorization and these failures often lead to contentious battles over the creation of a new charter school.

The US GPA of 2.1 -a ‘C’ – on state charter school laws is a result of states having earned five A grades, nine Bs, seventeen Cs, seven Ds and four Fs. Categories ranked include: the existence of multiple independent authorizers, number of schools allowed, operational autonomy, and fiscal equity when compared to their conventional public school peers.

Allen called it a ‘wake up call’ to everyone involved on both sides, and reminded people that having the law in place wasn’t enough by itself, it needed proper support to ensure that it could be implemented successfully in real world conditions.

The legal problems associated with the California ‘trigger law’ are an excellent example of how a law alone is not enough without due consideration for the practical difficulties of implementing it when there is a pre-existing power base whose self-interest is served by delaying and blocking any such implementation.

Comments

Joe

April 4, 2012 at 9:22 am

There really should be a standard operating procedure for charters. The people who want to open them shouldn’t need to learn a whole new set of regulations with each state.

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Linda Brees

April 4, 2012 at 9:23 am

I’d suggest that we have uniform standards for charters, but then someone will accuse me of trying to encourage federal government overreach.

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Kathy

April 4, 2012 at 11:52 am

I am a parent of a six grader I have been able to work in the classrooms with teachers and students for six years. I think we need more charter schools all schools should be uniformed as well as teachers to set examples for the students. We need to move away from union schools. I feel as a taxpayer there should not be unions in the public sector. I have seen the work of unions and they are not student focus or teacher, as much as the bottom line of funds! The students need to be the focus not adults. I feel that this time in our education crisis they should feel embarrassed and a shamed to request more money. Why? we have our grades, graphs, programs that show the service that is being provided is in adequate to their clients. In the really world you are not reward for failure or are we? We need to pull together and get the job done! We need to start allowing teachers to teach. I see all the time, in the classrooms there is no time for a teacher to give instruction and have question from students to be engaged on the subject. This is where we are failing the students. There needs to be more interaction with the teacher and classmates to think, and resolve problems. We have an in and out mentality of education. We need to change and focus on the students. Thank you!

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- Linda Brees
  
  April 6, 2012 at 7:40 am
  
  Kathy,
  
  1. Teachers are also taxpayers and some of them are even parents, (possibly of 6th graders) who might also consider it important that their kids receive a good education. I think, from what you wrote, you forget that.
  
  2. I don’t understand why teachers or any government employees should not be entitled to union protection.
  
  3. They don’t request more money. And the fact that they should feel somehow ashamed for advocating for themselves defies belief, especially since a lot of the problems in our education system can hardly be laid at their door.
  
  You advocate pulling together, but your words belie the sentiment. It seems you just want the teachers to do the pulling. And no wonder. If you were really serious about making our schools better, you’d be doing a lot more looking in the mirror and not pointing your finger at educators.
  
  Reply
Hagar

April 8, 2012 at 6:16 am

As a taxpayer, I am concerned with the lack of transparency. In Texas some of the heads of the school are making over $200,000 with less than a thousand students. The governance board are set-up where the board elect their own members. I am also disappointed that we are not seeing better results. In Texas, we do not have “unions” in the term of collective bargaining. We do have several professional associations which also does not allow one focused organization for Texas teachers.

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