While serious efforts are underway to improve the professional practices of authorizers in California, inconsistent and ineffective authorizing has produced too little charter school autonomy in some cases and too little charter school accountability in others. NACSA has high hopes for improving California’s charter school policy through the kind of vigorous debate that typifies the Golden State’s education policymaking. To help move these discussions forward, NACSA offers this examination of California’s charter authorizing structure and recommends a short list of policy fixes aimed at enhancing achievement and protecting public and taxpayer interests.
