A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Charter Schools Progress Report

The charter school movement is one of the fastest growing in education reform today. A new publication, A Study of Charter Schools: First Year Report, provides descriptive information about charter laws and schools for the 1995-96 school year. The report, part of a 4-year research effort to document and analyze the charter school movement, focuses on issues behind charter school implementation.

The report found that:

• At the beginning of 1996, 252 charter schools were operating in 10 states, and 15 other states and the District of Columbia had passed charter legislation.

• States take different legislative approaches to charter school development that profoundly affect the number, type, and operation of charter schools--and the impact they might have on the public school system. They also vary on how many charter schools are permitted in the state, who grants charters, who may start charter schools, and who sets personnel policies.

• There are many reasons why charter schools are created. The two most common reasons are the desire of a school to "realize an educational vision" and the possibility of increased autonomy. Other reasons include attracting students and parents, engendering parent involvement and ownership, and serving a special population.

• Resource limitations, political resistance, and regulatory problems serve as barriers to the establishment of charter schools. They face particular challenges such as lack of start-up and operating funds, union or bargaining unit resistance, and state and local school board opposition.

• Charter schools vary in size; however, most tend to be small (more than 60 percent enroll fewer than 200 students). These schools tend to be predominantly elementary schools that serve students up through grade eight.

• While it is difficult to make generalizations about the racial population of all charter schools, on average, racial composition is similar to statewide averages, or they have a higher proportion of students of color.

• Charter schools serve, on average, a slightly lower proportion of students with disabilities and a lower proportion of limited-English-proficient students, but they have rates of National School Lunch Program participation similar to the average in other public schools.

• Most charter schools are eligible for Title I funding.

The National Study of Charter Schools, sponsored by the Department as authorized by the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, is being conducted under contract with RPP International of Emeryville, California. For more information about the report, call Pat Lines at 202-219-2079. Copies of the report are available from the Government Printing Office for $6.50, stock #065-000-01012-7 (see page 11 for address). The report also will be posted at http://www.uscharterschools.org/.

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