In North Carolina, school resegregation by charter?
North Carolina could soon see a dramatic increase in the number of charter schools, with as many as 150 of the public-private hybrids opening across the state next year.
But new research from Duke University suggests the charter school boom will result in greater racial imbalance in the state's public education system -- and that can have negative educational consequences for students.
North Carolina limited the number of charter schools that could operate in the state to 100 until 2011. That's when the General Assembly -- with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate for the first time since Reconstruction and embracing a school-choice agenda -- lifted the cap.
Charter schools are K-12 schools that are publicly funded but privately run, are exempt from some regulations that traditional public institutions must follow, and are attended by choice rather than by assignment. Though operated as nonprofits, some are managed by for-profit corporations.
Since North Carolina lifted its cap, applications for new charter schools have soared, with one