Shifting Terrain
A Short History of Charter Schools in the U.S.
January 7, 2014
The Pre-History of Charters
Economic theory and vouchers
Milton Friedman introduced the idea
of vouchers as an antidote to
“public school monopoly” as early
as 1955, although many date this to
Capitalism & Freedom (1962).
The Pre-History of Charters
The Complication of Race
Segregation by State, 1954
Prohibited by law
Determined by local option
Not legislated
Required by law
The Pre-History of Charters
The Complications of Race
Prince Edward County, Virginia
– Closed public system in 1959
– White families transferred to private academy
– Tuition grants and tax credits to families
– Justice Black: “…could not be clearer that [P.E. schools] were
closed and private schools operated in their place with state and
county assistance, for one reason, and one reason only…”
[Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, 1964]
The Pre-History of Charters
The Complications of Race
– Friedman: “The state of Virginia has adopted a plan having many
features in common with that outlined in the preceding chapter.
Though adopted for the purpose of avoiding compulsory
integration, I predict that the ultimate effects of the law will be
very different….”
– If the conclusions of my argument are correct, if Virginia’s
voucher system is not abolished, “we should see a flowering of
schools available in Virginia, with an increase in their diversity, a
substantial if not spectacular rise in the quality of the leading
schools, and a later rise in the quality of the rest under the
impetus of the leaders.”
The Pivot to Public School Choice
The Pivot to Public School Choice
Vouchers as a Hard Sell
EXHIBIT TO COME:
IMAGES/ICONS OF BILLS
"I've long argued that more choice would lead to better education."
The Pivot to Public School Choice
“Repackaging” Magnet Schools
•Magnet schools are “one of the great successes of the education
reform movement.” - President Reagan, January 21 1988
•''There has been a shift…Republicans and conservatives have
come to realize that the Federal role in education is here to stay and
that you ought not to blow it up. They also recognize that it is silly to
concede the education issue to the Democrats.'’
- Secretary of Education, William Bennett, January 25, 1988
Charters: Emergence, Legislative
Spread, & The Battle Over Framing
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
First Charter Law in Minnesota
• Minnesota’s vision had
less to do with markets
than decentralization and
variety.
• But nationally charters
became proxy battle
ground over vouchers.
• Origin myths and the
controversy over “What
Al Shanker Really
Thought.”
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1991
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1992
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1993
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1994
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1995
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1996
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1997
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1998
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
1999
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
2001
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
2002
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
2003
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
2010
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
2011
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
2012
Charters: Emergence, Legislative Spread,
& The Battle Over Framing
Rapid Dissemination
Expansion & Maturation
Expansion
Growth in Number of Charter Schools
Total Number of Schools (1999 – 2013)
Maturation
Total Number of Charter Schools by State
None/No Data
Fewer than 50
51 - 100
101 - 200
201 - 300
301 - 500
501 - 1000
More than 1000
Maturation
Percentage of Charter Schools to Public Schools by State
None/No Data
1 to 5%
6 to 10%
11 to 20%
More than 20%
Maturation: Going to Scale,
Managing Charter as Systems &
Concentration Effects
Maturation
From Mom & Pop to Networks
Maturation
From Mom & Pop to Networks: Variation by State
Maturation
Managing Charter Systems
Total Number of Authorizers by Type, 2012
LEA, 876
HEI, 43
Other, 98
ICB, 13
NEG, 3
NFP, 19
SEA, 20
Maturation
Top 10 Districts with the Largest Market Share
Detroit 51%
Cleveland
29%
Flint 36%
Albany 27%
Toledo 27%
Gary 35%
Kansas City
36%
Indianapolis
28%
Philadelphia
28%
District of
Columbia
Grand Rapids
43%
26%
Dayton 28%
Roosevelt S.D. (Phoenix)
27%
San Antonio
26%
Hall County
32%
New Orleans 79%
Final Thoughts
Privatization Typology
• Pragmatic: A tool to make government more effective, efficient,
responsive.
• Tactical: A weapon for advancing personal, organizational, or partisan
interests by attracting new allies, and rewarding supporters.
• Systemic: A strategy for fundamentally reducing the role of government
by lowering expectations of what government should and can do, reducing
oversight and enforcement infrastructure, and altering the landscape of
interest groups so that there is reduced support for government growth.
References
• Slide 3:
• Wikipedia, “School Segregation in the United States,” Last modified
April 7, 2015.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_segregation_in_the_United_State
s
• Slides 11-28:
• The Center for Education Reform (CER), 2013 Charter School Law
Ranking and Scorecard, Washington, DC: CER, 2013.
https://www.edreform.com/2013/01/2013-charter-law-ranking-chart/
• Slides 29-31:
• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), “Total Number
of Schools, 2012-13,” In The Public Charter Schools Dashboard,
Washington, DC: NAPCS, 2014.
http://dashboard.publiccharters.org/dashboard/schools/year/2013
References
• Slides 33-34:
• Gary Miron and Charisse Gulosino, "Profiles of for-Profit and Nonprofit
Education Management Organizations: Fourteenth Edition—2011-2012,"
Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center, University of Colorado,
2013. http://nepc.colorado.edu/files/emo-profiles-11-12.pdf
• Slide 35:
• National Alliance of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), “The State of
Charter School Authorizing 2012: 5th Annual Report on NACSA’s Annual
Survey,” Chicago, IL: NACSA, 2012.
http://www.qualitycharters.org/assets/files/Documents/Publications/2012%2
0Facts%20Report.pdf
• Slide 36:
• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), “A Growing
Movement: America’s Largest Charter School Communities,” Washington,
DC: NAPCS, 2013. http://www.publiccharters.org/publications/growingmovement-americas-largest-charter-school-communities-8th-edition/