This is the fifth report prepared by the Center for Education Reform (CER) evaluating the capacity and flexibility of state laws promoting charter schools. Three primary factors were evaluated in preparing charter-school quality rankings by state. The center finds that the establishment of multiple sponsoring authorities, in addition to local school boards, is one of the most important mechanisms for promoting charter schools. Those states with multiple sponsoring authorities are home to over 80 percent of the nation's charter schools. The number of schools is the second criterion CER used to rank the quality of state charter-school laws. The third primary criterion employed by CER assesses the degree to which enabling legislation provides full legal autonomy to charter schools, freeing them to meet their objectives without undue interference from local school districts. Specific factors evaluated include year the charter law was passed, number of schools allowed, number of chartering authorities, number of eligible applicants, new starts allowed, ability to form new schools in the absence of public support, automatic waivers from state and district laws, legal autonomy, guaranteed full per-pupil funding, fiscal autonomy, and exemption from collective-bargaining agreements. Charter-school states are grouped as either "strong" or "weak" in their support of charter schools. New laws in some states (for example, Indiana) produced slight changes in rankings compared to past years, but general trends are holding, with Arizona, Delaware, and Michigan the most supportive of charter schools and Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi the least supportive of the 38 states that allow charter schools. (Contains a copy of the press release accompanying the report.) (TEJ)