Although charter schools are frequently afforded flexibility from many state laws that govern traditional public schools, a growing number of charter school teachers have now unionized and introduced collective bargaining to the charter sector. Using data from a detailed content analysis of teacher CBAs from California, we compare the…

The purpose of this study was to understand how traditional public school principals perceive charter schools. In this qualitative study, I interviewed ten traditional public school principals from the same rural public school system in North Carolina. The principals shared their perceptions of charter schools based on their current and previous…

This quantitative study sought to determine if public and charter districts within Region One Education Service Center (ESC) are currently leveraging a change management framework. Furthermore, the goal was to determine if the change framework that is potentially being used is one that is effective based on the perspective of the respondents.…

Public K-12 education is a one-size-fits-all system that cannot meet the diverse needs of students. When parents choose a school, they look at several criteria unique to their situation and make trade-offs between their preferences based on their needs. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing parents to enroll their…

This report provides information on enrollment in the Texas public school system from the 2013-14 through 2023-24 school years, based on data collected through the Texas Student Data System. Enrollment data are provided by grade, race/ethnicity, gender, and economically disadvantaged status, and for instructional programs, nontraditional school…

Despite a decline from the previous year, rates of chronic absenteeism for Wisconsin's students -- defined as missing more than one in ten school days for any reason -- remained at historically high levels in 2023 for children of every race, grade level, and socioeconomic status. District leaders point to many causes, including lasting impacts of…

In 2023, charter school advocates continued to make legislative gains in statehouses across the country. These gains were made in red, blue, and purple states, oftentimes in ways that showed bipartisan support for charter schools remains firmly in place. In looking at the results of this year's legislative sessions across the country, four…

By being public entities, charter schools must meet U.S. federal legislative mandates (e.g., Section 504) in providing a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities--just as their traditional district public school counterparts must do. This legal update reviews a prominent case, "Lawton et al. v. Success Academy…

This study examined the experiences of Hmong American parents who navigate the U.S. public school system through Hmong American charter schools. The purpose of this study was to determine the successes and challenges, as defined and described by Hmong American parents, in the hope of creating a positive and effective educational experience for…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how novice special education teachers describe the influence of collegial emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support in public charter schools on their career decisions in the southwestern region of the United States. House's theory of social support and Vygotsky's…

For more than twenty-five years, public charter schools have served Ohio families and communities by providing quality educational options beyond the local school district. But it's no secret that we've also had a long-standing debate over whether increasing school choice impacts students who remain in traditional districts. In important--and…

Safety has contributed to the growth of charter schools. However, charter schools may drain public schools of key resources, leading to a decline in safety in public schools. This study examines whether the opening of charter schools in New York City is associated with decreased safety in public schools. Results indicate very little or no…

For decades, charter schools have been promoted as a panacea for increasing competition in the educational marketplace. Supporters argue that increased choice forces neighboring schools to innovate, while opponents contend that charters "skim" students and funds away from traditional public schools (TPS). We test the two differing views…

The meteoric rise in charter schools has several implications for traditional public schools and their students. One understudied implication is the geographic competition for students. Given traditional public school boundaries are often fixed while charter school boundaries are more flexible, charter schools can draw students away from existing…

This presentation was an invited address at the opening session of the 2021 Annual Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) in Ft. Worth, Texas. The presentation will investigate student achievement using three perspectives. The presenters will first ask if one could recognize a great teacher. They will then report research…