Charter renewal is one of the most consequential tools authorizers have. It is the formal moment when an authorizer evaluates whether a school has earned the right to continue operating and under what conditions.  

Yet one dimension of renewal decisions has received almost no systematic attention: how long should a renewed charter term be?

Charter laws in many states give authorizers discretion to grant renewal terms shorter or longer than the five-year norm. Authorizers are increasingly using that discretion, but the field lacks a shared evidence base to guide those decisions. There is little research on whether shorter terms actually improve school performance, or whether longer terms create accountability gaps that monitoring alone cannot fill. Authorizers are largely navigating these decisions on their own, drawing on professional experience, institutional practice, and their state policy environment. 

To help fill that gap, NACSA conducted a mixed-methods study of authorizing renewal policies and practices in four states: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, and Michigan.

Learn more about our findings and recommendations here.