The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) applauds the Idaho legislature’s recent committee approval of the Accelerating Public Charter Schools Act. This bill is aligned with NACSA’s new school application recommendations that allow high-quality charter schools to replicate and expand.
“We are pleased to see that the bill includes an approach to pilot new kinds of learning environments,” said M. Karega Rausch, Ph. D., NACSA’s president and CEO. “We believe innovation portfolios are a critical component of reimagining of the new charter schools application process.”
The NACSA recommendations that align with this bill include:
- Designating a portion of authorized schools to focus on dramatically different approaches to teaching and learning, with rigorous, yet different, expected student and school outcomes.
- Leaning into pilot programs or other small learning communities as a means to explore innovation on a small scale and grow (as appropriate) when success is evident.
“We know this bill has not yet passed,” said Dr. Rausch. “However, in its current form, we are excited about this initiative. We will continue to monitor the progress and any future financial or operational challenges.”
Learn more about NACSA’s recommendations for the new school application here.
