NACSA Blog

NACSA Blog

Press Releases


Nevada Passes Legislation Creating State-Run District to Tackle Consistently Low-Performing Schools

Chicago, Ill. – Over the weekend, the Nevada legislature passed AB448, a significant piece of school reform legislation that will allow the state to transition its lowest-performing public schools to charter schools …


NACSA Says American Enterprise Institute Report on Charter School Application Process Goes too Far, Calls for Focus on Balanced Authorizing Practices

Chicago, Ill. – The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) released the following statement in response to the recommendations in a report on authorizer accountability released today by the American Enterprise …


Greater Collaboration between Charter Authorizers and Lenders Can Ease School Facility Financing Burden, Report Concludes

Chicago, Ill. – Today the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) released a joint report aimed at increasing conversation and understanding between lenders and …


Oklahoma Passes Comprehensive Charter School Reform

Unique combination of business groups, traditional schools and charter school advocates come together in the best interests for Oklahoma’s children Chicago, Ill. – Today the Oklahoma Legislature passed SB 782 , major …


National Association of Charter School Authorizers Voices Support for the Senate HELP Committee’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization Bill

Chicago, Ill. – Today, members of the U.S. Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee reported out a bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill to the full Senate. …


Ask the Right Questions About Charter School Graduation Rates

A few years ago, the California Charter School Association revealed Golden State charter performance didn’t align to the usual bell-shaped curve, but instead was clustered at the highest- and lowest-performance levels, creating …


Ask the Right Questions About Charter School Graduation Rates

A few years ago, the California Charter School Association revealed Golden State charter performance didn’t align to the usual bell-shaped curve, but instead was clustered at the highest- and lowest-performance levels, creating …


A Quarter-Life Crisis for Public Charter Schools?

Charter schools celebrate a milestone this year: 25 years. In a Huffington Post piece, NACSA President and CEO Greg Richmond gets real about the shortcomings of charters and shortcomings of the opponents. He argues it’s …


One Authorizer in Ohio: Doing the Right Thing

Here are edited excerpts of our Story Suite conversation with Mark Michael, Director of the Ohio School Sponsorship Program for the Ohio Department of Education. Mark participated in NACSA’s Leaders Program during …


One Set of Data/Four Unique Perspectives on Authorizing and Special Education

As part of NACSA’s 2015 annual survey, we asked authorizers for their perspectives and practices on issues at the intersection of authorizing and special education. We asked about oversight practices, what they do …


New Delhi: Reflections From an International Student’s Past and Present

Editor’s Note: This is Part II in a four part series highlighting public education challenges in New Delhi and how the U.S. charter model may be influencing education reform across the city. …


One Authorizer in Missouri: Making Public Schools the Public’s Schools

What follows are edited excerpts of our Story Suite conversation with Robbyn Wahby, founding Executive Director of the Missouri Charter Public School Commission. Robbyn also serves as a member of NACSA’s Board …


NACSA Names a Dozen Prominent Authorizing Professionals to Leaders Program

Today, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) announced the selection of the fifth cohort of its NACSA Leaders Program, a highly-selective and rigorous program providing leadership, management and authorizing training …


Live from DC: Negotiated Rule Making and Rube Goldberg Machines

As the second block of the U.S. Department of Education’s ESSA Negotiated Rulemaking Committee’s meetings wraps up, I can’t help but compare the whole process to a giant Rube Goldberg machine (for …


Getting It Right the First Time: Quality Practices Fuel Rigor

This year’s State of Charter Authorizing (SOCA) data revealed approximately 10 percent of large authorizers do not interview charter applicants on the merits of their application. Moreover, one in four large authorizers …