Today, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) released a report looking at school closure across the country. In response, Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) issued the following statement:

“Today’s CREDO report highlights the need to create more quality charter school options in our communities. The report’s finding that closing a school leaves half of students worse off—only because they lack a quality option—should inspire us to do more to open good, new schools.

“The fact remains that school closure is an essential part of the charter bargain that recognizes educating children is a privilege, one that every school should continually earn. No school should have a perpetual right to exist, especially schools that consistently fail to educate children. However, NACSA always encourages authorizers to consider the performance of a charter school in relation to that of others in the community serving comparable students before making the difficult decision to close a school.

“We are especially troubled by the report’s observation of different school closure patterns based on race, ethnicity, and poverty. These differences were present among both charter schools and traditional public schools and serve as a wake-up call to examine our practices to ensure all schools and students are being treated equitably. Authorizers have a responsibility to give all students—especially underserved populations—equal access to quality charter schools.”