|
 
CER Grades States' Charter School Laws: Arizona and Washington, DC Get Blue Ribbon for Best State Laws; President's Home State Proves No Legislation Is Better than Poor Legislation
CER Press Release
Washington, DC
March 17,2003
The Center for Education Reform (CER) has published a new ranking of state charter school legislation based on 10 criteria to establish what is strong legislation for the charter school movement versus weak legislation.
"Assessing each state's laws provides a yardstick to measure the potential advancement of charter schools as a new approach to public education," said CER's president Jeanne Allen. "From this effort we can then determine the extent to which states permit maximum flexibility to approach children's needs."
CER is now offering a state-by-state legislative analysis - part of a larger project for distribution this spring - The Charter School Workbook - and reflects the current status of each law through December 1996. It was prepared for CER by Mark Buechler of the Indiana Education Policy Center.
The point system employed ranks each state's legislation from 0-to-1 on: number of schools allowed; variety of individuals and groups who may apply to start a school; number of schools allowed; requirements for evidence of support within the community; automatic waivers from state and district laws; legal autonomy; per-pupil funding; budget control; and teachers' freedom from collective bargaining agreements.
Additionally, each state's legislation was indexed from 0-to-2 regarding multiple chartering authorities / availability of an appeals process. This guideline was measured differently because of its importance in determining the scope of charter school activity in a given state.
"While we know that a numerical grading system may bypass an individual state's strength when it comes to grassroots support, and parent, teacher, and administrative endorsements," Allen comments, "it is a fair assessment of how comprehensive each state's legislation is."
Based on the ranking system, Arizona has proven to have the strongest charter school legislation and Arkansas the weakest. It is also interesting to note that while the District of Columbia ranks second on the grid, the process for approving charters has proceeded at a snail's pace in DC.# # #
The Center for Education Reform (CER) is a national voice for more choices in education and more rigor in education programs, both of which are key to more effective schooling. It delivers practical, research-based information and assistance to engage a diverse lay audience ˜ including parents, policymakers, and education reform groups ˜ in taking actions to ensure that US schools are delivering a high quality education for all children in grades K-12. For more information contact CER at 202-822-9000 or send us an email.
|
