Savannah, Ga. — U.S. Department of Education Assistant Deputy Secretary Morgan Brown today addressed members of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) during their annual conference, celebrating the release of the Department's new Innovation in Education guide, Supporting Charter School Excellence Through Quality Authorizing. This new resource profiles eight charter school authorizers from across the U.S. working to advance the quality of charter schools and expand availability of educational options for families under No Child Left Behind.

Supporting Charter School Excellence Through Quality Authorizing examines factors contributing to the success of charter school authorizers. Representing a range of diverse authorizing entities with unique challenges and opportunities, the guide highlights the authorizers' shared fundamental characteristics such as developing a strong organization and talent pool and holding schools accountable for student performance through meaningful oversight. The guide highlights successful practices to help future authorizers and policymakers achieve quality authorizing.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings unveiled the guide last month during a charter school visit with Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, one of the guide's eight featured authorizers, along her No Child Left Behind back-to-school bus tour. Secretary Spellings congratulated authorizers throughout the nation who help make charter schools a reality for thousands of America's students, highlighting their innovative efforts to achieve results for students through high academic standards.

"Thanks to No Child Left Behind, parents are now equipped with the information to know how our schools are serving their children. No Child Left Behind empowers parents with the tools they need to be smart educational consumers and strong advocates for their children." Secretary Spellings said.

Before two panel discussions at today's NACSA conference on achieving quality charter authorizing, Brown noted that an overwhelming majority—in some cases, 100 percent—of the charter schools supported by the eight authorizers highlighted in the guide are achieving Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind. Additionally, he underscored the critical role of authorizers to ensure the schools they approve are thoroughly monitored for compliance with the law, given support through technical assistance and held accountable for student achievement under No Child Left Behind.

The eight charter school authorizers profiled in the Innovation in Education guide are: California Department of Education Charter Schools Division; Chicago Public Schools Office of New Schools; Ferris State University; Indianapolis Mayor's Office; Massachusetts Department of Education Charter School Office; New York City Office of Charter Schools; State University of New York Charter Schools Institute; and Volunteers of America of Minnesota Charter School Sponsorship Program.

Additional information on the Supporting Charter School Excellence Through Quality Authorizing guide is available at: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/choice/charter/authorizing/.

Additional innovation guides in this series produced by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement are available as free downloads at http://www.ed.gov/about/pubs/intro/innovations.html.

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