Archived Information

Variations in State Policies

1. States should permit more than one public organization to sponsor public schools. Thus, local school districts would no longer have the "exclusive franchise" to sponsor public schools.

2. The charter school should be a public nonsectarian school and be prohibited from using an admissions test or charging tuition beyond what the state and local community provide.

3. The charter school should be independent of local labor/management agreements, and could develop its own working conditions.

4. The charter school should have an explicit contract (or charter) for performance. Its continued existence should depend on whether the school's students achieved the goals set out in its contract.

5. In exchange for this explicit accountability, most state rules and regulations should be waived for the charter school.

6. The charter school should be available as a choice--no family, student, or educator should be assigned to a charter school. ⁴

1. Charter schools must be based on high academic standards; charter school laws must require that charter school students be held to the same standards as the children in other public schools.

2. Charter school students must take the same tests as other students in the state and district; comparisons of charter school performance must be made to other public schools.

3. Charter school employees should be covered by the collective bargaining agreement.

4. Charter schools should be required to hire certified teachers; at a minimum, laws should require that teachers employed in charter schools either already have certification or be in the process of obtaining certification.

5. Charter schools should have the approval of local school districts if charter schools are to have a positive impact on other public schools; an appeals process to the state should be available to charter school applicants.

6. Charter schools should be required to make information available to the public, including demographic and outcome data on students and school financial information.

The federal charter legislation⁶ reflects yet a third philosophy on how to define charter schools. The statute suggests the following features:

1. Charter schools are public schools that are exempted from significant state or local rules that inhibit the flexible operation and management of public schools.

2. Charter schools are created by developers as public schools or adapted from existing public schools, and are operated under public supervision and direction.

3. Charter schools operate in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives determined by the schools' developers and agreed to by the authorized public chartering agency.

4. Charter schools provide a program of elementary or secondary education or both.

5. Charter schools are nonsectarian in their programs, admissions policy, employment practices, and all other operations and are not affiliated with a sectarian school or a religious institution.

6. Charter schools do not charge tuition.

7. Charter schools comply with federal civil rights legislation.

8. Charter schools admit students based on a lottery if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated.

9. Charter schools agree to comply with the same federal and state audit requirements as do other elementary and secondary school in the state unless the requirements are specifically waived.

10. Charter schools meet all applicable federal, state, and local health and safety requirements.

11. Charter schools operate in accordance with state law.

Broad Similarities and Differences Across States

State laws also differ as to the number and types of agencies that can sponsor charter schools. Charter-granting agencies are specified in each state's legislation and can include the state board of education, local school districts, the chief state school officer, boards of community colleges, boards of state public universities, state boards of regents, and a special state board of charter schools. In 12 states, the local school board is the only authority that can grant a charter; in three of those states, the decision of the local board can be appealed to a higher authority that may overrule the local decision. In the remaining 13 states and the District of Columbia, one or more of the bodies identified above may grant a charter; the legislation differs as to whether or not there is an appeals process.

Charters may be granted to newly created schools, to schools that were previously public schools, or to schools that were previously private.  All but four (Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, and New Mexico) of the 25 states and the District of Columbia permit the creation of new schools from scratch. All states and the District of Columbia have provisions for the conversion of public schools to charter, while only five states and the District of Columbia allow the conversion of private schools (Arizona, District of Columbia, Michigan, Minnesota,⁷ Texas, and Wisconsin⁸). The legal status of charter schools also varies. In 15 states and the District of Columbia, charter schools are independent entities, corporate entities, or nonprofit organizations, but in eight states charter schools remain legally a part of their local school districts. The legislation in two other states, California and Wyoming, does not directly address the legal status of charter schools. In California, schools have formed as a variety of legal entities, ranging from independent nonprofit corporations to a legal arm of the sponsoring district.

State charter legislation contains various provisions that govern how a charter school relates to its employees. In 15 states and in the District of Columbia, charter schools may act as employers, although in some schools in the 15 states, teachers remain district employees. In the remaining ten states, legislation requires that teachers remain (or in the case of newly created schools, become) employees of the district. In 13 states, charter schools are subject to state collective bargaining laws; in six other states, the legislation is silent on the status of collective bargaining arrangements. The remaining six states and the District of Columbia either exclude charter schools from collective bargaining arrangements or allow schools to address collective bargaining in their charters.

Examples of Charter Laws in Four States

Minnesota and Georgia.The first comparison is between Minnesota and Georgia, as summarized in Exhibit 3. Minnesota's charter law, when enacted in 1991, authorized up to a maximum of eight charter schools. Subsequent amendments eventually raised this to 40 charter schools. Local school boards and public, postsecondary institutions may grant charters, as may the state board of education upon appeal. Minnesota charter schools must be established as independent (nonprofit or cooperative) corporations, and may be either newly created schools or pre-existing public or private schools.⁹ Nearly the entire state education code is automatically waived for charter schools in Minnesota, and funding is allocated directly to the school from state sources. The schools act as independent employers and the school staff may organize pursuant to the state collective bargaining laws, but must do so separately from existing district bargaining units.

Georgia's charter law, enacted in 1993, differs sharply from Minnesota's in that it retains more connections between charter schools and their local districts. Though the Georgia law does not cap the number of charters granted, only local school boards may grant them, and there is no appeal in the event that a charter is denied. Only existing public schools may convert to charter schools--that is, there are no provisions in the law for starting charter schools "from scratch" or converting existing private schools to charter status. Georgia charter schools remain legal arms of their local school districts; staff at the schools remain employees of the sponsor district, and staffing policies are subject to negotiation between the school and the district (Georgia is not a collective bargaining state). The local charter contract may call for waivers of state laws and local policies, but there is no automatic waiver of such laws, as in Minnesota. Financial arrangements are negotiated between the charter school and sponsor district and resources are provided through the district.

Exhibit 3 -- Comparison of Minnesota and Georgia Charter Laws as of June 1996

Arizona and California. The contrast between charter laws in Arizona and California illustrate other aspects of the variation in state approaches. Exhibit 4 indicates that California's charter statutes allow for up to 100 charters statewide with a maximum of 10 in any district.¹⁰ Local school districts grant charters, but denials may be appealed to the state board of education; county boards of education may grant a charter after a successful appeal process.

California's charter schools may be either newly created schools or conversions of existing schools, but private schools may not be converted to charter status. California's charter law is silent with respect to the legal status of charter schools (in practice California's charter schools are a mix of legally independent schools and schools that are a legal arm of their sponsor district). California is a collective bargaining state, but its charter schools are generally recognized as exempt from the state's collective bargaining laws. Many charter schools, however, have developed relationships with existing bargaining units, including full participation in standing contracts and processes. California law requires that the petition requesting a charter school (for both new and conversion schools) contain the signatures of at least 50 percent of the teachers in the petitioning school or 10 percent of the teachers in the district. California's charter law provides for a broad and automatic waiver of all laws affecting school districts, exempting charter schools from the state's extensive education laws and regulations.

Arizona's charter law, in contrast, allows local school districts, the state board of education, and a state board for charter schools to grant charters. Charter schools may be conversions from existing public or private schools or newly created. The Arizona law does not cap the total number of schools that may be established, though it limits the number that each of the state boards may grant to 25 per year. Arizona charter schools may be independent legal entities and, similar to California, the charter law waives many state laws and regulations. State funding for charter schools is on the same basis as other public schools, with the funds going directly to charter schools.

Exhibit 4 -- Comparison of Arizona and California Charter Laws as of June 1996

[II. The State Role]

[Research Questions About the State Role]