By the end of 1995, 19 states had passed charter-school legislation and at least 16 others had considered similar legislation. This document summarizes the issues surrounding charter schools and the implications of recent research about the charter-school movement's failure. The document defines charter schools and their organization, describes…

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…

This 5-year study is evaluating the Public Charter Schools Program (PCSP), a federal effort to help charter schools meet planning, startup, and early implementation costs. It is gathering local, state, and federal information about the program, documenting the evolution of the charter school movement. Researchers are studying the operations and…

With the increasing demand for better schools, states and communities are providing more options to families. By doing so, they are not only improving educational opportunity for those children, but also having a dramatic impact on how schools operate in their communities. The most important options are full school-choice programs, charter…

This paper reviews how the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) will operate regarding different groups of students and schools, examining factors that could delay or dilute its guarantee of educational accountability for the academic achievement of all children. It discusses such issues as: what kinds of tests must be used and when, who must…

Many Canadian provinces are looking to Alberta for guidance about charter schools. This case study examines the closure of one charter school to identify the obstacles other schools may face. This study uses critical policy analysis and the "politics of interpretation" to examine the political context of educational policy issues. While…

The most important burden of charter schools is the need to demonstrate that the instruction they provide actually benefits students. They can hire their own teachers, make their own tradeoffs between spending on administration and teaching, locate anywhere in the community, and let parents know in advance what a child must do to succeed in the…

More than 2,100 charter schools serving more than 500,000 students operate in 37 states and the District of Columbia. This book contains a report of a study that examined the first 10 years of the charter-school movement. The study addressed the following questions: (1) What students do charter schools serve? (2) Are charter-school teachers more…

After more than 10 years into the charter-school movement, a fundamental issue remains to be addressed, according to this paper. The issue reduces the charter movement down to its basic core premise, which is effectiveness. The question for all stakeholders is how effective is the charter-school model. Evaluation within the context of the…

This report describes activities and findings of Project SEARCH, an on-going qualitative research project investigating the current status of policies regarding children with disabilities in charter schools. The project has involved a preliminary analysis of all current charter laws to examine the inclusion of students with disabilities and a more…

On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as No Child Left Behind ("NCLB"). This law dramatically affects how all schools, including charter schools, are held accountable for the academic performance of their students. Since the passage of NCLB,…

Charter schools have emerged as the latest model for school reform. This handbook contextualizes the emergence of the charter-school concept by examining both the broader political shift in educational governance toward local control and the more specific movement in school reform toward greater institutional autonomy and school-based change. The…

This booklet contains information designed to familiarize personnel at charter schools in North Carolina with the financial services offered by the Division of School Business and the reporting requirements of the division. The division seeks to ensure fair and equitable distribution of and accountability for the optimal use of state and federal…

The outcomes of charter schools to date are inconclusive. This report examines the charter legislation in 25 states in reference to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) criteria. The criteria evaluate the legislation in regard to the likelihood that it will produce quality schools and/or serve as examples of how the larger system of public…

This selection of readings in the field of educational reform presents 46 articles, mostly from the news media, and 2 cartoons related to improvement of the educational system. It opens with "Network Notes," brief reports and reviews about events and recent publications of interest to those concerned with educational reform. The first…