The school choice movement is gaining ground. Currently, 37 states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school or voucher legislation. Public approval of school choice continues to grow, with approximately half of the respondents in a 2000 nationwide poll favoring vouchers for private and religious schools. A survey conducted for the…

This report presents Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) results for North Carolina students scheduled to graduate in 2002. These results represent the students' most recent scores, regardless of when they last took the tests. The scores in this report reflect public and nonpublic school students in North Carolina and, for comparison, the United…

This report presents the findings and recommendations from a study of school district and charter school participation in the Texas Virtual School Pilot (VSP). The report also provides an overview of the activities of the charter schools and districts that participated in the first year of the pilot program. This information includes descriptions…

Based on a literature review, this report provides an overview of charter schools. A total of 52 studies of operating charter schools and documents exploring the origins of the charter school concept were reviewed. The report covers the following topics: why and how people create a charter school; charter schools' autonomy compared with public…

This report examines the extent to which proposals to decentralize public education can be implemented by individuals, groups, or institutions prepared to operate charter schools. Charter schools must be able to balance autonomy for decisions relating to educational programs and accountability with academic standards and market forces.…

This report presents and analyzes data on charter schools in Colorado from the 2001-02 school year. During the 2001-02 school year, 86 charter schools operated in Colorado and served 24,658 students. This descriptive evaluation rests on a review of student and school data regularly maintained by the Colorado Department of Education and individual…

The Hearing before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families of the Committee on Education and the Workforce was held on June 23, 1998. Statements are presented by various educators in public education and in charter schools, U.S. Representatives, the assistant secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education, and members of his…

This article describes how the Los Angeles Accelerated Schools Center (LAASC) expanded the original role of the accelerated schools coach to enhance the effectiveness of parallel reform efforts. Two such efforts are the Design for Excellence Linking Teaching and Achievement (DELTA) collaborative and the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project…

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on proposed amendments to the Indian provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The proposals include amendments to the ESEA amendments of 1978 related to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools and amendments to the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988. Both sets of proposals…

This report reviews state policy documents, other than state laws, that pertain to students with disabilities in charter schools. It includes background information on charter schools in general and relevant federal legislation, a report of a survey on state policy documents, and a discussion of four areas of critical issues related to this topic.…

The organization and format of this primer which is designed for state officials differs from the other two in this series based on the recommendations of the state officials who participated in the Special Education Technical Assistance for Charter Schools (SPEDTACS) Project state team meetings convened to assist in the development of the set of…

Gives a personalized account of the individual development of one school administrator/founder in relation to a Montessori school's evolution. Suggests that the school must consider stages of development in teachers and parents. Discusses the expansion of services to a second charter school, identifying how failures can lead to success. Suggests…

Schools in East Oakland (California) serving minority groups experienced overcrowding, poor attendance and graduation rates, and violence. Community groups pressured the school district into opening six new, small charter schools and creating schools within schools at the high schools. Cooperation among community groups, the district, and the Bay…

Describes the pros and cons of Alaska's unique Family Partnership Charter School, which oversees distribution of public funding to home-schooling families, offers support to help home-schooling parents meet district standards on their own terms, and monitors required purchase of teacher time and expenditures. A sidebar describes an Alaskan…

School choice is a market-driven reform in which schools compete for students. Discusses characteristics of choice and lessons drawn from the international experience: increased segregation, unimproved learning, low participation, parental criteria, inequity, lack of options, administrative emphasis on management, and right-wing support. Describes…