by Keri D. Ingraham
Parents, children and supporters school choice we have reason to celebrate National Charter School Week.
According to a recent report, charter schools took the top two spots on a list of the best high schools in America report by US News & World Report. Among the top 100 public high schools were charter schools 19 places— 10 in Arizona alone — despite constituting only 8% all public schools in the country.
Yet for all their proven success, there are far too few free public schools open to all students across the country.
Charter schools are very popular with parents, as evidenced by consistently long waiting lists. Still with 46 states plus Washington, D.C., where laws allow charter schools, many states either limit the total number of charter schools allowed or the number that can open each year, or limit the creation of charter schools to failing districts.
Legislation proposed in Mississippi this year would expand the state’s existing, restrictive law, increasing the total number of charter schools from the current 10.
As explained in Empower MississippiHB 1683 would allow applicants to apply to start charter schools in C-rated districts, rather than just D and F-rated districts as is currently the case, without having to obtain approval from the local school board – which is unlikely to be granted.
The bill would also allow charter schools to be established in any district, as long as they serve students with autism or emotional or intellectual disabilities. Finally, the bill would give Mississippi colleges and universities the ability to approve charter schools. Currently, only the Charter School Authorization Board has such authority.
There are only 18 charter schools in Washington state, despite passing a law authorizing them 12 years ago. In 2021, a statewide ban on novel charter schools was introduced. Liv Finne, director of the Education Center at the Washington Policy Centernoted that the Washington State Board of Education “recognizes that children who attend public charter schools receive a standard of education that is as good as or better than that provided by most traditional public schools.”
The Washington State Board of Education, working with charter school officials, has made two key recommendations: First, the board recommends allowing additional charter schools to open. Second, recommends “examining the sufficiency of charter school funding and approaches used in other states to ensure equitable education funding for Washington schools.” Time will tell if any ground can be gained.
Missouri last week he took a step forward when The bill was signed by Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican authorizing charter schools in Boone County, which had an estimated population as of July 2023 less than 190 thousand.
Previously, Missouri only allowed charter schools in Kansas City, St. Louis and non-accredited school districts. In typical fashion, local school superintendents (seven of eight in Boone County) he demanded a veto. Their selfish focus is on maintaining a monopoly on student enrollment and related funding, while not providing families with educational opportunities for their children.
Missouri lawmakers would be wise to expand the state’s charter school law to all districts.
It would be beneficial to all states’ bottom lines to encourage more charter schools. The state funds only a portion of the per-pupil amount it gives to the district’s public schools and generally does not cover facility costs – either in part or in full – for charter schools.
Often, families who send their children to charter schools cannot afford to pay private school tuition or do not have parents or grandparents available during the work day to make homeschooling a viable option. On average, more than half of the students who attend a charter school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch based on household income.
Starting in the 2021–2022 school year, many minority students attend charter schools. In one example in enrollment in a city charter school, an average of 40.5% of students are Latino and an average of 32.6% are black. White students average 17.6% and Asian students average 4.4%.
More than 57% charter schools are located in urban areas attended by over 1.9 million students. Almost 29% are in suburban areas, which is almost an additional number 1 million students.
Parents know what is best for their children, and many want an option other than the district public school assigned to them based on their home address. Charter schools have proven their mettle high demand a path that ensures students achieve academically.
Lawmakers would be wise convincedo not limit, expansion charter public schools. If these schools do not effectively educate students, families may leave them because their children are not attached to the schools.
Charter schools have incentives to serve families well and provide students with a high-quality education, incentives that do not exist in near-monopoly district public schools.
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Keri D. Ingraham, Ed.D., is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.
