CURMUDGUCATION: What Charter Advocates Want From States

CURMUDGUCATION: What Charter Advocates Want From States

What Charter Advocates Want From States

What exactly would charter proponents like to see in state charter regulations? As it turns out, we don't have to guess, because the National Alliance of Public [sic] Charter Schools regularly publishes a ranking of the states based on the "strength" of their charter laws. This year's edition is the 11th, and it's available right now! Woot!

If you are concerned about the rankings, I can give you some highlights. Indiana, Colorado and Washington come in at spots 1, 2 and 3. Florida (State motto: "Making sure there is no public school system for Certain People's grandchildren") is down at 7. Maryland, Kansas, and Alaska are at the bottom. Five states are not on the list at all--no charter laws. There are some other surprises, like Ohio at a measly 23.

You can check to see where your state ranks, but for our purposes, the interesting part here is the actual criteria used-- the list, in effect, of the qualities of the NAPCS dream state. We launch the good stuff right after an intro from CEO Nina Rees and Todd Ziebarth, Senior VP of State Advocacy and Support. I have got to get some fancier titles going here at the Curmudgucation Institute.

There are 21 "essential" components for "strong" charter law. This is what charter advocates want your state to put in place. I'm going to run down the list, looking at why the want these items and why they are bad ideas.

1) No caps on charter growth. The charter industry would like the freedom to go after as much  CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: What Charter Advocates Want From States