Archived Information

1. Charter-approving agencies and sponsors. Lists who in the state has authority to participate in granting charters. Charter-granting agencies are often referred to as "sponsors" and typically have some degree of responsibility to monitor the charter schools' progress.

2. Appeal of charter denial. Addresses whether charter developers may appeal the denial of a charter application by a charter-granting agency to another body. In some cases the appeal agency may be able to grant the charter directly or order the agency that denied the charter to grant or reconsider the charter application. In other states, the appeal agency may only recommend that the charter be granted and has no authority to grant the charter or order that the charter be approved.

3. Cap on number of charters allowed in state and by district. Indicates whether the state caps the number of charters that may be granted statewide and/or by district or geographic region. Many states have caps on the total number of charter schools that may be approved in the state; some also have caps on the total number, or percentage, of K-12 students in the state or district who may attend charter schools. Others cap the number of charters that may be granted during a given year, but may or may not cap the total number that may be granted.

4. Automatic waiver of most state education laws and regulations. Indicates whether the charter law exempts charter schools from a substantial proportion of laws and regulations that normally apply to public schools and school districts. In some states the charter school law automatically grants charter schools a waiver of most state and local education codes and regulations. In other states there is no such waiver and the application for a charter school must specify what statutes or regulations are requested for waiver while still other states do not provide for waivers. Charter laws often specify that state health, safety, and non-discrimination laws cannot be waived

5. Charter schools may employ and/or bargain with staff independently. Indicates whether charter schools have the ability to employ and/or bargain with staff independent of existing contractual and employment arrangements. In some states charter school staff are employed by the school as an independent entity; elsewhere they remain or become employees of the district. Many state charter laws exempt charter schools from existing collective bargaining laws or specify that the charter school may or must bargain with employees independent of existing bargaining agreements. Others require that charter school staff be subject to existing bargaining agreements.

6. Charter schools may be independent legal entity. Indicates whether the charter school may or must be constituted as a legal entity independent of the local school district.

7. Basic operational funding generally comparable with other schools. Addresses whether charter schools receive general-purpose and categorical operational funds comparable with similarly-situated public schools. This item excludes capital funds which rarely are provided to charter schools. Due to the complexity and varied nature of state education funding formulas, this item may also exclude district-specific and one-time funding sources.

8. School operates under limited-term, performance-based contract. Indicates whether the law requires charter schools to operate under a limited-time and revocable performance-based contract that includes specified student achievement goals, standards or outcomes.

State/ Year law passed	Charter approving agencies and sponsors	Appeal of charter denial	Cap on number of charters allowed in state & by district	Automatic waiver of most state education laws and regulations	Charter school may employ and/or bargain with staff independently	Charter school may be independent legal entity	Basic operational funding generally comparable with other schools	School operates under limited-term, performance-based contract
Alaska 1995	Local boards	No	30 state 1-10 district	No, may apply for waiver of local policies only	No	No	No	Yes
Arizona 1994	Local board, State Board, and State Board for Charter Schools	No, but may apply to multiple grantors	No caps	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, but long 15-year charter term
Arkansas 1995	State board (with local board and bargaining unit approval)	No	No caps	No, may apply for waivers	No	No	Yes	Yes
California 1992	Local boards	Yes, county panel	100 state, 10 district (21 in Los Angeles)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, negotiable	Yes
Colorado 1993	Local boards	Yes, State Board may order local board to grant charter	60 state (cap expires in 1997)	No, may apply for waivers	Yes	Yes	Negotiable	Yes
Connecticut 1996	State board local board for conversions	None specificed 2 school district; 4 congressional district	24 state, (cap expires 1999)	No, may apply for waivers	Yes	Yes	Yes for new starts; conversions negotiate	Yes
Delaware 1995	Local boards; state board also for new start-ups	No	5/year state	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Washington, D.C. 1996	DC board, new charter school board, other entities as designated by DC Council	Subject to judicial review	10 districtwide in 1996, 20 per year thereafter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, but long 15-year term

Exhibit B-1--Comparison of Major Policy Elements of Charter School Reform Legislation (25 states plus District of Columbia, as of August 1996) continued

State/ Year law passed	Charter approving agencies and sponsors	Appeal of charter denial	Cap on number of charters allowed in state & by district	Automatic waiver of most state education laws and regulations	Charter school may employ and/or bargain with staff independently	Charter school may be independent legal entity	Basic operational funding generally comparable with other schools	School operates under limited-term, performance-based contract
Florida 1996	Local boards and state universities in some cases	Yes, state board and judicial review	No state cap	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Georgia 1993	State board (with local board and union approval)	No	No caps	Yes	May be negotiated; otherwise no	No	Yes	Yes
Hawaii 1994	State board	No	25 state	Yes	Not specified	Not specified	Yes	Yes, but non-renewal requires 2/3rds vote
Illinois 1996	Local boards	Limited appeals process1	45 state 15 each in 3 regions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kansas 1994	Local boards	No	15 state 2 district	No, may apply for waivers	No	No	Not specified	Yes
Louisiana 1995	Local boards (state board for district-initiated proposals)	No	No state cap Variable local caps	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Massachusetts 1993	State board	No	25 state 2/city except 5 in 2 major urban areas	No	Yes	Yes	Yes May be less depending upon local conditions	Yes
Michigan 1993	Local boards, universities, community colleges	May petition to have issue placed on ballot for next election	No absolute cap; only 85 (rises to 150 by 1999) to be issued by universities	No	Yes	Yes	Yes, but capped at statewide average	Yes
Minnesota 1991	Local boards, State board (on appeal), colleges & universities	Yes, state board (if two votes on local board)	40 state	Yes	Yes	Yes	May be less in some cases2	Yes

Exhibit B-1--Comparison of Major Policy Elements of Charter School Reform Legislation (25 states plus District of Columbia, as of August 1996) continued

State/ Year law passed	Charter approving agencies and sponsors	Appeal of charter denial	Cap on number of charters allowed in state & by district	Automatic waiver of most state education laws and regulations	Charter school may employ and/or bargain with staff independently	Charter school may be independent legal entity	Basic operational funding generally comparable with other schools	School operates under limited-term, performance-based contract
New Hampshire 1995	Local boards, state board upon appeal (with pre-conditions)	Yes, sate board	10/year until 2000 when cap expires 2/year	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes for conversions; new starts receive a minimum of 80% at the discretion of the Dept. of Ed.	Yes
New Jersey 1996	State commissioner	No	135 state (cap expires 1998)	No, regulations only may be waived upon request	Yes, for ?new starts? No for ?conversions?	Yes	No, 90 to 100%, negotiated	Yes
New Mexico 1993	State board	No	5 state	No, may request waivers from State Board	Not specified	Not specified	No	Not specified
North Carolina 1996	Local boards, state university trustees, state board	Yes, state board	100 state 5 per year, per district	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rhode Island 1995	State board of regents (with approval of Commissioner and/or local boards)	No	20 state	No, may apply for waivers	No	No	Yes	Yes
South Carolina 1996	Local boards	Yes, but state board may not actually grant charter	No caps	Yes	Yes, for ?new starts? No for ?conversions?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Texas (Campus) 1996	Local boards	No	No caps	Yes	Not specified	Presumably yes	Not specified, presumably negotiated	No, no term specified
Texas (Open Enrollment) 1996	State board	No	20 state	Yes	Yes	Presumably yes	Yes	No, no term specified

Exhibit B-1--Comparison of Major Policy Elements of Charter School Reform Legislation (25 states plus District of Columbia, as of August 1996) continued

State/ Year law passed	Charter approving agencies and sponsors	Appeal of charter denial	Cap on number of charters allowed in state & by district	Automatic waiver of most state education laws and regulations	Charter school may employ and/or bargain with staff independently	Charter school may be independent legal entity	Basic operational funding generally comparable with other schools	School operates under limited-term, performance-based contract
Wisconsin 1993	Local boards only except Dept. of Public Instruction may grant to Milwaukee	No, except DPI may grant in Milwaukee	No caps	Yes	No, except Milwaukee	No, except Milwaukee	Negotiable	Negotiable
Wyoming 1995	Local boards	No	No caps	Not specified	Not specified	Not specified	Yes	Yes

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[Appendix A]

[Appendix C]