This is a section of "Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking," a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research. Each section focuses on a different issue, and its recommendations to policymakers are based on the latest scholarship. A founding premise of charter schools is that deregulation will free teachers, principals, and schools to excel. Regulation or accountability in the conventional sense would be unnecessary, as competition and the market model would be the driving quality control force. Schools not doing a good job of educating children would either have to adapt or go out of business. Embracing this philosophy, 43 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some form of charter schools. Like many new enterprises that have a free hand in the beginning, cracks and fissures erupted. This brief discusses four broad domains of charter accountability: (1) academic performance; (2) equal opportunity and non-discrimination; (3) financial solvency and stability; and (4) safety. The laws and/or regulations for charter schools vary widely in content and focus. These need to be periodically updated; otherwise state policymakers will not have fulfilled their obligation to protect the safety, welfare, and educational entitlements of children. This brief provides a list of recommended policies focused on the four domains of charter accountability. A list of notes and references is included.