State Receives Low Marks on Charter School Law (NC)

November 30, 2010

The restrictiveness of the North Carolina charter school law has earned the state a “D,” according to the Center for Education Reform, an education reform advocacy organization.

The nationwide nonprofit group released its 2011 U.S. charter schools report card Monday in which it categorized 41 states that allow for charter schools, based on the strength of their charter school laws.

States were ranked on criteria that include the number of charter school authorizers, number of schools allowed, state and district autonomy, teacher freedom and equity in funding.

The key issues which played a part in North Carolina’s low charter school law grade are funding and the question of what entities create and manage charter schools independently (whether it is traditional school boards, universities, nonprofit organizations), said Alison Consoletti, the organization’s director of research.

The amount of money charter schools in the state have lost since the 1996 charter school law was enacted is in the mil lions, she said.

Consoletti said the fact that local school boards and the state board of education are the only charter school authorizers in North Carolina is a major hindrance, seeing as how those entities’ resources already are limited.

In addition to the cap, an “operational block is created from the get-go,” she said.

“North Carolina hasn’t changed its law, and it has been a ‘D’ for the past couple years,” Consoletti said. “This is something that could be fixed.”

Evidence of the state’s ongoing charter school dilemma can be seen in the number of lawsuits filed addressing the inequities charter schools face versus traditional public schools, she said.

In 2009, several charter schools filed suit against the state regarding the funding disparity between charter schools and traditional schools.

In the Center for Education Reform’s analysis, North Carolina received 17 out of a possible 55 points, ranking them 30th out of 41 states.

“States with weak laws impose barriers to charter creation, and even the stronger law states have numerous regulations and limitations that impede charter growth,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform.

“The November elections ushered in unprecedented numbers of new state lawmakers who campaigned with education reform as a priority. 2011 can be transformative for educational excellence if lawmakers have a thorough understanding of what it takes to succeed.”