Ray Budde created the initial concept of a charter school in 1974 who was a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His initial ideal model of a charter school was an independent public school free of legal and financial restraints. It would function independently without tuition restraints, religious affiliation, or selective student admissions.
The concept was similar to that of a charter school functioning like a private enterprise, unshackled from the many state laws and district regulations that presided over the school system in the US. A primary consideration for charter schools was to be independently operated and accountable for student outcomes rather than processes.
In 1988, the concept was embraced by Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who rallied for charter schools to be established in all states of America. It wasn’t until 1991 that Minnesota passed the first charter school law, followed by California in 1992.
Funding still a hot topic today
Charter schools are independently operated, and funding is dictated by each state where the school resides. Some states such as California and Illinois support charter-friendly policies, while other states tend to have more anti-charter policies by elected officials.
On average, charter schools receive less money than their district-run equivalents. A national report for charter school finance stated that charter schools receive about 22% less public funding support per pupil than the district schools surrounding them.
Funding is one of the 21 essential components of a robust public charter school law.
The Singapore education model
Charter schools often look to Singapore for their inspiration. Singapore is a small country, just 278.6 square miles in size, but punches far above its weight in terms of schooling and results. Singapore has a literacy rate approaching 98% and education is placed as a huge priority to the state, So much so, that 20% of the country’s GDP is spent on education.
Despite the pandemic, education in Singapore has continued online. Leading education tutors such as JC Economics Tuition in Singapore made the smooth transition to teaching online and the Singapore education model remains one for charter schools to follow.
The regulation of public charter schools
All charter schools operate under a contract with a charter school authorizer, typically a non-profit organization, a government agency, or a university body. Their authorizer holds them accountable for producing positive academic results and adhering to the charter contract outlined in their “charter.”
In addition, the national charter school law has an established template for each state to write laws facilitating the support of high-quality charter schools. State and federal public education laws hold underperforming schools and authorities accountable to ensure high standards are upheld or aspired to.
Each year a charter school is ranked based on its performance aligned with the national charter school law template model. They then offer the results in a database open to the public to compare how the charter law model ranks for each state.
What happened in the 2020 national ranking?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there weren’t as many charter school bills enacted last year. This spelled good news for states where anti-charter school bills were trying to be pushed through. Conversely, in states where pro-charter bills had to be put on hold, this was terrible news in terms of development. Due to the relatively few bills enacted in 2020, there was little movement in the state rankings.
There were some highlights in the ranking report, however. Indiana had the nation’s most robust charter school law for the sixth year in a row. The report noted that Indiana had made significant strides in providing more equitable funding to charter schools. Indiana’s law also doesn’t cap growth and asks for a decent amount of accountability from schools.
Other states that came in the top 10 were Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Alabama. Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, and District of Columbia. On the other end of the spectrum was Maryland, which is the state that scored the lowest.
While the pandemic will inevitably still be a prominent focus for state lawmakers, it’s hoped that 2021 will see more changes to public school charter bills. With the end of the pandemic on the horizon (albeit still omnipresent), it is hoped that more charter school bills will be enacted this year and further progress made.
