State charter school laws earn a 2.1 GPA, says the Center for Education Reform

The Center for Education Reform’s newly released report, The Essential Guide to Charter School Law: Charter School Laws Across the States, 2012, is the center’s 13th annual analysis of charter school-related legal policy and issues. The report documents current conditions for effective laws able to support the growth and success of models of public, charter schooling.

The Charter School Laws Across the States report indicates the wide variations in charter school laws, state by state, average out to a national 2.1 GPA grade on charter school policy, revealing a compelling need for improvement, especially in failing states. District of Columbia and 29 states earn A, B, and C scores

“Charter schools — public schools, open by choice, accountable for results and free from most rules and regulations that stifle progress in traditional schools — are permitted in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and yet the conditions for success in those states compromise the availability of great new public schools that parents and students most need and deserve,” said CER President Jeanne Allen.  

The national GPA of 2.1, essentially a C grade on state charter school laws, is a result of analysis of 41 states and the District of Columbia. The final, national tally combines state-earned scores of five A grades, nine B grades, seventeen C grades, and a dismal seven D grades and four F grades.  (Read more by visiting the Center for Education Reform)