NACSA Blog

NACSA Blog

Press Releases


Multi-State Analysis of Charter School Proposals and Approvals Reveals a Diverse Sector Shaped by Authorizers

Report uncovers increased share of freestanding school proposals, decrease in for-profit and “No Excuses” proposals, and few proposals receive philanthropic support.  CHICAGO — A new report released today by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) offers a never-before-seen …


New Digital Campaign Highlights the Need to Improve Charter School Authorizing

New explainer videos demystify the role of charter school authorizers, which remains largely misunderstood 25 years into the charter school movement. The critical role authorizers play in determining the overall quality of …


NACSA CEO Testifies to Congress on Power of Charter School Authorizing

On June 13, 2018, NACSA President and CEO Greg Richmond and a select panel of education reform leaders will testify in front of the House Education and Workforce Committee on the value of charter …


NACSA Testifies on CA Authorizing Bill SB 1362

Today, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) Policy Director Veronica Brooks-Uy will testify before the California Senate Education Committee on SB 1362, a bill that addresses charter school authorizing issues …


New Report Identifies What Charter School Authorizers Do Differently to Achieve High-Performing Portfolios

New report finds successful authorizing depends on great leadership, institutional commitment, and strong professional judgment CHICAGO — Today, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) releases “Leadership, Commitment, Judgment: Elements of …


Mississippi Adopts New Charter School Law

Governor Phil Bryant today signed Mississippi’s new charter school law, making the state the 42nd in the country to welcome charter schools. Its adoption paves the way for the state’s children to have access …


Active Authorizing

Via the Washington Post‘s Emma Brown, comes the news that Monday night, the DC Public Charter Schools Board (DC PCSB) unanimously denied a request from  BASIS DC, one of the charter schools it authorizes, …


A Step Forward for Charter School Quality in Texas

Yesterday the Texas Senate passed SB 2 with a resounding 30-1 vote.  The Senate should be applauded for passing a strong bill that will expand opportunity and improve the quality of charter …


Real Parent Empowerment without a War

There has been a lot of heated rhetoric over the spread of so-called “parent trigger” or “parent petition” laws which allow parents and in some cases teachers to vote to restructure the …


Playing Political Football with Kids’ Lives

NACSA’s president and CEO, Greg Richmond, has a op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times arguing that charter schools are being used in Chicago’s “school wars” in ways that only serve adult interests and harm kids. While …


Protecting Student and Public Interests

In a recent article from Renee Schoof at McClatchy, NACSA’s Alex Medler weighed in on a provision in a charter school bill in North Carolina that would allow charter schools discretion over “whether …


Helping Charter Schools Better Serve English Language Learners

This week the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released Serving English Language Learners:  A Toolkit for Public Charter Schools. This timely resource is designed to provide charter school leaders with clear guidance …


School Choice for All

While most of the education-related news coming out of Philadelphia lately has been about school closures similar to those just announced in Chicago, there is other work going on that has the …


Scaling Quality, Closing Failure

A new report, Searching for Excellence: A Five-City, Cross-State Comparison of Charter School Quality, by researchers at Public Impact and published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute examines charter school performance in five cities, Albany, Chicago, …


Postcard from the Statehouse: St. Paul, MN

Hello from a chilly St. Paul, Minnesota!  Earlier this week, the House Education Committee chose to incorporate into an omnibus bill, HF 998, legislation that would create a closure provision for charter …