State Education Policy
Good charter school policy must be part of the solution to address our public education system’s greatest problem: there are too many children in low-performing schools. Authorizers–the entities who oversee charter schools–are best positioned to improve school quality at scale. But, the conditions in their states don’t always set them up for success.
Varying quality of charter laws and authorizing institutions leads to uneven charter quality and authorizing that creates barriers to access, innovation, and growth. Getting authorizing policy right is critical because good authorizing has the power to transform the lives of not just a few students, but millions.
The charter sector can only thrive when the laws and policies that govern it are strong. NACSA is providing model language, practical tools, and tailored guidance to support needed state policy changes. Together, we can ensure that every charter school is held to high standards, given the right level of autonomy, and positioned to deliver excellent outcomes for students and families.
Policy Principles
- Authorizer Capacity: Authorizers are responsible for, have the capacity to manage, and are held accountable for the overall quality of their portfolio of schools.
- Accountability: Schools are closed when they fail to meet performance standards or do not uphold the interest of students and the public. High-performing schools are encouraged to expand and replicate.
- Access & Equity: All students, regardless of personal and/or social circumstances, receive an excellent education that helps them achieve their potential. Authorizers have legal ability and are required to ensure equitable and broad access to charter schools.
- Autonomy: Schools are held accountable for outcomes rather than process.
Policy Resources
NACSA’s policy resources provide information that helps stakeholders overcome common authorizing issues and increase the number of high-quality schools available to their students.
Policy Recommendations
We regularly update our state policy recommendations to reflect today’s challenges and opportunities in charter school oversight.
Multiple Authorizers
Creating multiple authorizer options is one way state policy can improve authorizing and create great charter schools for more kids.
Authorizer Accountability
When done well, multiple charter school authorizers can be part of a powerful education system by promoting professional authorizing practices and providing checks and balances to charter oversight, but with multiple authorizers comes the need for accountability that ensures all authorizers are aware of and prepared for the requirements of the job and are doing the job well.
Authorizer Shopping
When clear policies are not in place, there is a risk that some struggling charter schools may try to evade closure by transferring to a new authorizer to avoid accountability, also known as authorizer shopping.
New Quality Authorizers
New and different high-quality authorizers ensure better and more sustained decision-making about educational opportunities for all students and create a profession that more closely reflects the students and communities it engages.
High Performing Charters
One policy solution to help meet the demand for more quality public schools is to grow more of what is already working.
Expanding What Works
Enabling growth among high-performers requires both policy solutions and improved authorizer practices. Our Expanding What Works series explores practices and policies for quality growth across the charter school landscape.
Virtual Charter Schools
Online learning can provide educational opportunities for children in need of better options; however, well-documented academic and management related problems continue to plague virtual charter schools. As a result, it is critical for states with virtual charter schools to adopt policies that ensure this unique model is serving children well.