NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
ERIC Number: ED452606
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2001-Apr-12
Pages: 59
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How Equal Is Access to Charter Schools?
Ausbrooks, Carrie Y. Barron
Although charter schools are rapidly becoming an integral part of the public-school landscape, much remains unknown about them. This paper reports on the findings of a descriptive-research study that comprised an analysis of U.S. charter-school statutes. The focus of the investigation was on equity in the areas of student recruitment, admission and enrollment, transportation, and information dissemination. Research was guided by seven questions that addressed the extent to which charter-school statutes foster equality of student access to their schools. Each state's charter-school statute was examined to determine the extent to which it included specific provisions with regard to: (1) providing access to underrepresented student groups; (2) admission policy guidelines or requirements; (3) geographic boundary requirements; (4) denial of student requests for admission; (5) provisions for when enrollment exceeds capacity; (6) student transportation policy guidelines or requirements; and (7) policy guidelines or requirements for dissemination of charter-school information. The findings suggest that states' statutes do an adequate job of ensuring that underrepresented groups have access to charter schools and that students' civil rights are not violated by charter schools. Virtually all, save 2, of the 36 statutes reviewed contained some provision with regard to ensuring that underrepresented groups (the economically disadvantaged, minority, and special-need students) have the same access as other students to charter schools. (Contains 11 references.) (DFR)
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Seattle, WA, April 10-14, 2001).