Just 11 states, plus the District of Columbia, earned an “A” or “B” grade on whether their laws support charter schools, according to the rankings put forward by an advocacy group.
Relatively few of the winners in the Race to the Top competition were deemed to be in the upper tier, according to grades included in the report by the Center for Education Reform, which supports charter schools and school choice.
Of the round one and round two Race to the Top awardees, only the District of Columbia earned an A. And just New York and Florida received Bs. Of course, support for charter schools was just one of the categories through which states could earn Race to the Top points. The center graded states’ charter school laws and practices in four categories: whether they allow and encourage multiple authorizers of those schools; the number of schools they allow; how much independence they give charters from existing state and district operational rules; and whether the amount of money and sources of money for charters are on par with other public schools.
The center’s report is aimed partly at spurring state lawmakers to promote policies favorable to charters, when legislative sessions commence early next year.
Look into your legislative crystal ball...do you see many states taking action on that front?