News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup

Arizona has retained its top spot as the state most friendly to the charter school movement in the view of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington research group that promotes charters and other school choice initiatives.

The center ranked 37 states, plus the District of Columbia, that authorize the independent public schools on such factors as the number of charters allowed, the allowance for multiple chartering authorities, and the proportion of per- pupil funding guaranteed, among others characteristics.

Arizona, which is known for its freewheeling charter school atmosphere and large number of such schools, was among seven states and the District of Columbia to receive a grade of A. Thirteen charter school states received B's, 10 states received C's, and six got D's. Mississippi earned an F after scoring low...