Washington, D.C. Four new states join 11 others in having a policy that will automatically close low-performing public charter schools, according to a new report released by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee have enacted policies requiring charter schools to close if they do not meet certain performance benchmarks since the National Alliance issued its first report on this issue in April 2014.They join California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington, which had policies in place when the first report was released.
“The National Alliance advocates for the growth and expansion of high-quality charter schools. At the same time, we also believe it is equally important to close charter schools that are not improving student outcome,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Public charter schools should provide a high-quality education to students. If they fail to meet their goals, they should be closed.”
The report recommends that as state lawmakers consider these policies, they should give serious thought to several issues, including authorizers track records in closing low-performing public charter schools, the sophistication of their states accountability systems, and how to handle public charter schools that serve high percentages of at-risk students.
Earlier this year, the National Alliance released a report that showed that more than 500 charter schools opened across the country in the 2014-2015 school year and approximately 200 charter schools closed in 2013-14.
We commend policymakers that have acted to enforce the quality of their states charter school landscape through strong accountability measures, said Rees. We also strongly encourage lawmakers to work closely with the local public charter school stakeholders who are committed to quality as they navigate this policy issue.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.
