Minn. Law Spurs Charter Sponsors to Think Twice

A major overhaul to a Minnesota law aimed at strengthening accountability for those who sponsor charter schools is drawing both praise and criticism and spurring some districts to consider getting out of the business of authorizing such schools.

Among the districts contemplating leaving authorizing behind is St. Paul, the home of the nation’s first charter school. Minnesota is the national birthplace of the charter school movement, having enacted the first charter school law in 1991. It’s now home to 152 charter schools that enroll about 33,000 students statewide, and nearly 50 organizations—including school districts, universities, and nonprofit groups—serve as charter authorizers.

The state legislature approved a slew of changes last year that increased the responsibility of authorizers for the oversight and renewal of charter schools, which are publicly funded but largely...