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 …


Charter School Authorizers Must Rebalance Accountability, Flexibility, and Support During the Pandemic

This guest blog was written by Miho Kubagawa, a Partner with New Schools Venture Fund. When schools closed in March, I naively assumed that the biggest challenge public schools would face this …


Message to the Charter School Authorizing Community from Karega Rausch, Interim President & CEO

To the Authorizing Community: Like so many of you it has taken me some time to process a range of emotions after seeing Black people being murdered, most visibly George Floyd and …


Authorizer Conversations: Joseph Escobedo on Virtual Site Visits and the Human Side of Authorizing

“When we talk about the human side, that was something I was not expecting. I was not expecting that I would need to provide emotional support to our charter leaders or that …


Supporting ELs, Students with Special Needs, and Student Mental Health During Distance Learning: Lessons from Minnesota

Guest post by Krista Kaput, Research Director, EdAllies Minnesota—along with 47 other states—has closed its school buildings for the remainder of the school year, elevating the importance of strong, equitable distance learning …


Educating Students with Disabilities During COVID-19: Civil Rights Endure and Authorizers Must Lead

By Wendy Tucker, Senior Director of Policy, National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools A crisis is not the time to roll back civil rights. It’s the time to roll up …


Tips for Virtual Capacity Interviews

Capacity interviews are a critical component of the new school application review processes. These interviews can provide crucial opportunities to secure information to address or confirm deficiencies in written applications, enable authorizers …


Authorizer Conversations: David Frank on the Sprints, Strolls, and Marathon of Authorizing Through a Pandemic

“The preponderance of questions that schools are asking are about students with disabilities, and how we transition to this new environment to serve them well – that is at the forefront of …


A Blueprint for Back to School: Additional Thoughts for Authorizers

On May 4th, the American Enterprise Institute, in collaboration with over 20 education leaders including NACSA’s acting President and CEO Karega Rausch, published A Blueprint for Back to School. Recognizing how vital, …


An Authorizer’s Role in Supporting Remote Learning

A Note from NACSA: Today’s guest blog comes from Ryan Marks, Director of Evaluation and Assessment at the Colorado Charter Schools Institute (CSI), an independent charter school board that oversees 39 schools …


Upholding Open Meetings Law in a Virtual World

During times of crisis, it is more important than ever that charter school boards continue regular meetings to review materials on educational continuity, finance, and operations, and to vote on action items …