In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author examines charter schooling in Washington, D.C., including the region's unique history of charter schooling and the challenges these schools face. She is optimistic about the future of the District's charter school movement, but argues that District and…

Alberta Education provides funding to school authorities to support the development and implementation of programming for students with severe disabilities. The Handbook for the Identification and Review of Students with Severe Disabilities presents case studies to assist school authorities in identifying students who may be eligible for special…

Supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Project Connect aimed to generate communication and cooperation among five charter schools and organizational partners in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina. The project facilitated meetings involving educational associations, businesses, policymakers, charter- school…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is being implemented in Alberta school jurisdictions and charter schools in the 2000-01 school year. While the "Framework for the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement," December 1999, provides the AISI background, goals, principles, considerations, clarifications, and…

Among many publicly-funded school choice initiatives that have earned Florida the label "school choice central", none has reached as many children and families as charter schools. Charter schools have flourished in Florida largely because of the state's rapid population growth: many of the districts that are experiencing more than a 10…

This handbook provides an overview of federal and Colorado special education laws and special education issues that affect charter schools. An introduction reviews the history of charter schools and both the school choice movement and special education in Colorado. The first major section provides a history of special education statutory and case…

For-profit schools are serviced by commercial companies whose primary goal is to raise student achievement to a designated level within a period specified by contract. Different school systems are discussed along with their positive and negative points. Questions related to possible issues are presented in each case for consideration. Reasons for…

A growing number of charter schools are being designed, launched, and operated by community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs). This resource guide is intended to target a priority technical assistance need: creating and sustaining a healthy relationship between a new charter school and a founding community organization, leading to the creation…

This handbook (prepared to assist charter school operators, state department of education personnel, and policymakers) reviews special education case law and legislation as well as pertinent issues that can guide charter school personnel, host or sponsoring districts, and state agency personnel in the implementation of special education in charter…

The premise of this policy paper is that two educational movements, the charter school movement and the development and dissemination of a variety of comprehensive school designs, have an unprecedented opportunity to work together to improve U.S. public education. This paper, focusing on challenges facing comprehensive school design organizations,…

This resource guide provides an overview of special-education laws and issues related to K-12 education for those interested in starting or currently operating a charter school, for host or sponsoring school districts, and for state departments of education. It is essential that charter-school operators and staff who are in any way responsible for…

As of November 1996, at least 25 states had passed charter-school legislation empowering agencies of state government to enter into agreements with private individuals and groups to operate public schools. This is a guidebook for government agencies given the power to permit individuals and groups to operate autonomous public schools under state…

The last 2 decades of the 20th century have witnessed a growing movement to reform the American education system. While people debate why and how reform should be accomplished new initiatives are being developed and applied in many different areas: student performance standards, curricular innovation, assessment, accountability, professional…

This report is the first in a series exploring a variety of the organizational spaces being developed under strategies to change and improve K-12 education in Minnesota. One strategy seeks to create an environment that focuses on creating new and different schools and with them new choices for students and families. These reports are designed to…

In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author takes a close look at charter schooling in Ohio, examining the history, status quo, challenges, and the future of the charter school effort there. He finds terrific examples of success, but points out that there are some very real challenges, including…