Charter School Legislation:
State-by-State Analyses

        CER's Ranking of Charter School States provides an overview of where each state stands on the most important elements of charter school legislation. The state-by-state tables offer a more detailed examination of each of the 38 laws currently in existence, analyzing each law according to over 30 criteria.

        Although most of these criteria are self-evident, several merit a brief explanation:

• Formal Evidence of Local Support Required: lists the different constituencies that must formally support a charter school application before the chartering authority may approve it. For example, a certain percentage of teachers and parents at an existing public school may have to sign a petition before the school can be converted into a charter school.
• Recipient of Charter: lists the person or entity that actually enters into a contract with the chartering authority, generally either the applicant for the charter or the charter school’s governing body. In some states, this distinction may determine who is ultimately responsible for the legal and financial obligations of the charter school.
• Transportation: refers to transportation of students within the district where the charter school is located. In states where students outside the district are eligible to enroll, they or their parents are generally responsible for transportation to the district’s boundaries.
• Facilities Assistance: indicates whether states or districts must offer charter school applicants assistance in finding suitable buildings.
• Technical Assistance: indicates whether states or districts must offer technical assistance to charter school applicants.
• Funding Amount: indicates whether charter schools are guaranteed the same operational funding per student as a school district would receive for that student.
• Funding Path: indicates whether funding flows directly from state treasury to charter schools or is routed through another entity, such as the school district.
• Collective Bargaining / District Work Rules: For collective bargaining states, indicates which of three options apply to charter school teachers, and whether they are required or optional: (a) covered by district agreement, (b) negotiate as a separate unit with the school’s governing board, or (c) no collective bargaining. For Right-to-Work states, indicates whether charter school teachers are subject to district work rules. (Right-to-work states with charter laws: Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Wyoming.)
• Enrollment Requirements: indicates whether charter schools may screen students using academic or other criteria, such as matching students with the focus of the school. (This category is separate from the "Preference for Enrollment" category, which involves residence, kin, prior attendance, and so forth.)
• Mandated Assessments: indicates whether charter school students are required to take the same statewide or districtwide tests as students in other public schools.

        Additionally, the phrase specified in charter means that the criterion under consideration is not automatically determined by the law. Rather, it is subject to negotiation between the applicant and the chartering authority, with the outcome delineated in the charter. For example, if the funding amount is specified in charter, the applicant and the chartering authority must reach an agreement as to how much money the charter school will receive—often less than 100% of what the funding formula would generate for a student in that district.

To see each state's profile, just click on the state's name below:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

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