MANY CHARTER SCHOOLS LACK THE AUTONOMY NEEDED TO SUCCEED

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Like a boxer with one hand tied behind his back, far too many U.S. charter schools lack the freedom they need to succeed, according to a new report released by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

“There has been much focus on whether charters are producing results,” said Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr., “but no one has really taken a good hard look at whether charters are being granted the freedom they were promised to deliver the academic outcomes America wants from them.”

Conducted by Public Impact, Charter School Autonomy: A Half-broken Promise scanned the nation to find out just how autonomous charter schools really are in key domains. Analysts examined charter laws in 26 states as well as school contracts from 50 of the country’s most active authorizers (which collectively oversee nearly half of U.S. charter schools).

The study found that a number of states—e.g. Maryland, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Tennessee—burden their charter schools with excessive rules and red tape while others such as Arizona, California, Texas, and D.C. provide high levels of autonomy.

Nationwide, the typical charter school can expect a middling degree of autonomy. States averaged B-plus for the degree of autonomy they afford charter schools, but the average grade dropped to B-minus when charter school authorizer conditions were added—and would likely dip in the C range once federal regulations and other state and local policies are factored in.

“The grand “bargain” that undergirds the charter school concept,” remarked Finn, “is that these new schools must deliver solid academic results but that, in return, they’ll be given freedom to be different. Sadly, this study shows that many policymakers and authorizers aren’t honoring the freedom side of the bargain.”

More key findings include:

• Schools were likeliest to face restrictions on teacher certification (95 percent) and revising their charters and/or making mid-course changes to their programs (70 percent).
• Charter schools enjoyed the greatest autonomy over curricula, calendars, teacher work rules, staff dismissals and purchasing.
• Although state laws are the primary source of constraints on charter school autonomy, sixty percent of charter school authorizers imposed additional restrictions.
• Among authorizers, school districts and institutions of higher education imposed the most additional restrictions while nonprofit organizations and state boards imposed the least.

“It’s not surprising that many school districts fail to give their charter schools adequate autonomy,” said Michael Petrilli, Vice President for National Programs and Policy at Fordham Institute. “Many of them never wanted charters in the first place. This is one more reason to believe that most districts aren’t up to the task of authorizing charter schools, and should be relieved of that duty.”