Commentary
No Shortcuts to Student Success: The Case for Statewide Annual Assessments
September 22, 2025
When I think about why I’ve dedicated my career to advancing and strengthening the ideas and practices of authorizing, I think about the students I’ve met over the years—bright, curious young people …
Commentary
A New Path Forward: NACSA’s Bold New School Application Guidance
August 13, 2025
I’ll never forget a foundational principle I learned nearly two decades ago, while authorizing in Indianapolis: It should be hard to gain approval to start a new charter school. But it needs …
Who We Are

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) is an independent voice for thoughtful charter authorizing practices and policies that lead to more great public schools.

What is Authorizing?

Authorizers are the entities that decide who can start a new charter school, set academic and operational expectations, oversee school performance, and decide if a school remains open.

Authorizing Principles & Standards

Resource guides that identify core authorizer responsibilities and describe how the principles are upheld within each responsibility. They are designed to help set high expectations.

Strategic Plan

NACSA believes all children should attend high-quality schools. Our goal is by 2028 to see more than 1.5 million charter school students enrolled in exceptionally high-quality schools.