ERIC Number: EJ759420
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Feb-2
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0277-4232
EISSN: N/A
Charter Authorizers Eye Rules on Closings
Hendrie, Caroline
Education Week, v24 n21 p1, 20-21 Feb 2005
With the nation's charter sector now encompassing some 3,200 schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia, shutdowns have become more common occurrences in the past few years. As estimated one in every 10 charter schools has now closed its doors, up from only about 4 percent four years ago. Most authorizers who take their responsibilities seriously agree that weeding out bad schools is a vital component of the autonomy-for-accountability bargain at the heart of the charter school concept. But amid the sparks thrown off by closings, those authorizers are often ending up singed. As shutdowns grab headlines--particularly when schools collapse in midyear, stranding students, families, and staff--their authorizers may come under fire for how they've handled the process. As a result, leaders among the authorizers that grant the contracts to operate to publicly financed but independent schools--including states, school districts, universities, and others--are getting serious about sharing their experiences and finding better ways to pull the plug. As they struggle to develop policies and protocols to shut weak charter schools, authorizers are grappling with issues that may increasingly apply to regular public schools as they fall under sanctions for sub par performance imposed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A