State, Local Officials Tangle Over Charter School Primacy

One of the most fundamental questions about charter schools—who should have the power to approve them—has re-emerged in force in a number of states.

Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey have been the scene of debates this year over whether state or local authorities should have the final say on allowing charter schools within a particular district's boundaries, and over the standards for judging the merits of those largely independent public schools.

Charter school proponents have complained for years that local school boards have an incentive to block new schools that can lure students and funding away from regular public schools. Local officials counter that state boards tend to make decisions about charter applications with little if any regard for whether those schools fill an academic...