30 Years. 30 Things to Know about Charter Schools

This is National Charter Schools Week and it is the 30th anniversary of the first charter school law. To celebrate, here are 30 things to know about charter schools.

Opportunity
  1. Charter schools, by law, are public schools. That is according to the federal government (20 U.S.C. § 7221i), “the term charter school means a public school…” Of course, this definition is followed by 461 words of description, but the point is that the federal government and nearly every state charter school statute explicitly recognizes charter schools as public schools.
  2. Approximately 3.3 million students attend over 7,500 charter schools across 43 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. That is about 6 percent of the US student population.
  3. More and more students attend charters every year. The number of students attending charter schools more than tripled between 2005 and 2017.
  4. The closer a charter school is located to a traditional public school, the better traditional public school students perform academically. This is the a finding from studies from MIT and Temple University.
  5. According to a 2021 study published by the University of Arkansas, charter schools are 43 percent more cost-effective in reading and math than traditional public schools.
  6. Charter schools must ask an oversight body to exist before they can serve students. These oversight bodies are commonly referred to as “authorizers.” Nearly 90 percent of authorizers are local school boards, according to the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA).
  7. The relationship between a charter school and an authorizer is governed by a written contract. These contracts outline the responsibilities and promises of the charter school, and the authorizer is responsible for enforcing the contract. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) recommends an initial contract term of at least 5 years.
  8. Charter schools are most commonly operated by independent non-profit organizations. 65 percent of charters are independent, locally created charters. 23 percent are led by large non-profit networks called “charter management organizations” (CMO). And 12 percent of charters are operated by private, for-profit networks called “education management organizations” (EMO), according to NAPCS.
  9. It is illegal for charter schools to discriminate in their admissions based on race. That is according to state statutes – for a list of those statutes see this blog from 2017. In fact, most of those statutes require lotteries to ensure blind admissions.
  10. Real people start charter schools to address real problems. For example, two moms in New York started NYC Autism Charter School when they realized how difficult it can be to obtain free and appropriate public education that fits the unique needs of students. For six more stories like this one, read this brief post.
  11. Parents found charter schools for many reasons including the closure of a nearby rural public school, they wanted a specific language program, other local schools were too big, there were serious safety concerns, or there was a belief that school could be better. For quotes from parents, see this blog.
  12. Teachers found charter schools too. For example, one Delaware teacher wanted to offer parents in rural Sussex County a public Montessori school. You can find more example here.
  13. Charters can be nimble, adapting quickly to unforeseen circumstances. For example, when schools began shutting their doors in March, 2020, there were charters who stood up brand new online courses in days. For an expert panel between some of those charter leaders, look here.
  14. Charters are different from each other. Did you know there are more than 13 different types of charter schools? For an easy read, check out this poem for an explanation.
  15. Charter schools generally receive less money than other public schools, and sometimes a lot less money for things like facilities. For example, a recent analysis by Matthew Joseph found that Ohio only met 18.1 percent of charter facilities needs in the state.
  16. Charters can accelerate student learning, creating pathways for students to earn a college degree while still in high school. For example, check out this profile of Vanguard Academy Charter School by our own Lowell Matthews.
  17. Charter students in urban settings learn more in less time. That is according to studies by Stanford University’s CREDO. You can read more about that study here.
  18. Charter students from low-income families graduate from college at much higher rates than peers who attend nearby traditional public schools. For more about the alumni of charter schools, see Richard Whitmire’s work here.
  19. Charter schools are serving more students with disabilities than ever before. For more, check out our own 2018 analysis on the topic.
  20. Charter students with disabilities are more likely to have access to the general education curriculum and they are less likely to be isolated for large portions of the school day. For more on that, see this study from the Center for Learner Equity.
  21. Charter students are more likely to be civically engaged that other students. A 2018 study by Mathematica, 98 percent of alumni from one charter network were likely to vote in elections compared with 40 to 50 percent of their peers.
  22. There are more than 125 charter schools that are diverse-by-design, seeking to attract students from multiple races, ethnicities, and income-levels. For more, see this report from The Century Foundation.
  23. Charter schools can lead integration efforts. For example, University Charter School in Sumter County, Alabama became the first integrated public school in the county when it opened its doors in 2018. You can read more about that in this post.
  24. A larger percentage of charter teachers identify as persons of color. For example, Black students who attend charter schools are 35 more likely to have a Black teacher according to a study released by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
  25. Charter schools still have room to grow. According to an analysis by Fordham, there are about 10 charter school deserts per state. These are areas that are economically depressed and have no charter schools. Building new charters could increase economic activity in the neighborhood.
  26. Charter schools could have an enormous and positive economic impact. One recent analysis found that if a single charter network were allowed to establish their 22 charter schools in Arizona, the state would see a $5.3 billion impact on the economy within 10 years.
  27. About 77 percent of charter schools do not own their school facilities. For more on how states can support the sustainability of charter schools, see this policy brief by our own Matthew Joseph.
  28. Moratoriums and caps on charter schools can cost students millions of dollars in lifetime earnings. For example, last year the NY Regents voted to close (later reversed) a charter in Buffalo in order to save a school district money. That decision could have cost charter school students $142 million in lifetime earnings.
  29. Charters can and do improve over time. Stanford’s CREDO conducted their National Charter School Study in 2009 and in 2013. They found that the charter sector significantly improved academically.
  30. Charter schools provide necessarily expanded options for students who urgently need them. Just ask Christopher Collot of Miami, FL. His story is worth knowing.

Solution Areas:

Public Education Choice

Topics:

Charter Schools

About the Author

Sam Duell is the Policy Director for Charter Schools at ExcelinEd.

Solution Areas:

Private Education Choice, Public Education Choice