NACSA Blog

NACSA Blog

Press Releases


NACSA Cheers Passage of Comprehensive Charter School Reform Bill in Ohio

Today Ohio state lawmakers passed House Bill 2 (HB 2), a comprehensive charter school reform bill. In response, Amanda Fenton, director of state and federal policy at NACSA, issued the following statement: …


NACSA Urges Ohio Legislature to Pass Charter School Reform Bill

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) fully supports Ohio House Bill 2 (HB 2) as passed by the conference committee today. We are pleased with the legislatures’ commitment to this …


California Authorizers Take the Lead to Improve Charter School Quality and Oversight in State

NACSA commends the Alameda County Office of Education’s new Charter Authorizers’ Resource Network (CARSNet) and California Charter Authorizing Professionals (CCAP) as they kick off the California Charter Authorizers Conference—the first-ever conference focused …


U.S. Department of Education Emphasizes Charter School Oversight, Including NACSA’s National Authorizing Standards

Chicago, Ill. — Today the U.S. Department of Education announced the next round of Charter Schools Program (CSP) grants. In a press conference, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan voiced his support …


NACSA Calls on Washington State Governor to Save Charter Schools

Over the past three years, Washington’s public officials have worked carefully to implement the state’s new charter school law. It is because of their work that more than 1,200 children throughout the …


Public Charter Schools: Renewal Resource for Charter School Leaders and Authorizers

Public Charter School Renewal Guidance for School Leaders & Authorizers

Renewal guidance for public charter schools The decision to renew — or not — is complex work, requiring the balancing of diverse and often competing interests. The global pandemic brought even more …


Public Charter School Leaders, Renewal is a Time to Tell our Story 

  Running a school is the most challenging and most fulfilling job in education. As the global pandemic hit, “challenging” didn’t even begin to describe what school leaders faced. For charter school …


4 Reasons You Should Attend #NACSAcon

Smart, proactive public charter school authorizing can transform public education. We’ve seen it happen in cities across the country.  How did they do it? What lessons can you take from their struggles and …


Holding Up a Mirror: What to Expect at 2021 NACSA Virtual Leadership Conference for Charter School Authorizers

As educators, we need to recognize the significance of this moment for charter school authorizers. The pandemic has interrupted schooling for millions of children–widening achievement and opportunity gaps that we have all …


Wyoming Gets a New Authorizer Is the Headline, But There’s More to the Story

Last month we touched on a Wyoming bill, SF130, which created a new authorizing pathway in the state. But there is more to the bill that deserves to be highlighted: through a comprehensive overhaul, SF130 significantly improves …


Amid Change, Our Autonomy and Community Are Our Strength

This blog post was written by Dr. Sana Shaikh, who served until this spring as Director of School Operations at Rise Prep High School, an autonomous school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Rise Prep is …


One of Our “COVID Keepers”: Putting Communities First in Public Charter Schools

This blog post was written by Joanna Hightower and Shira Woolf Cohen, Founding Partners, Innovageous.  In March 2020, brick and mortar public charter schools were suddenly forced to operate as virtual schools.  Despite …


Colorado HB1295: When Everyone But the Impacted Community Determines Education Policy for the Community

When is a public charter school in the community’s interest? Community can mean different things to different people of course, but generally NACSA believes that engaging community and gauging community needs to develop effective …


Biden’s FY2022 Budget and What It Means for Charter Schools & Authorizing

On Friday, May 28th, the Biden administration released their proposed budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which is set to begin on October 1, 2021 and run through September 30, 2022. The …


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One Founder’s Lessons Learned in a Year Like No Other

This blog post was written by Aasimah Navlakhi, CEO of BES. BES Fellows spend countless hours, days, weeks, and months planning, working in high-performing schools as resident leaders, distributing thousands of flyers, …