Charter schools are surging ahead as a reform movement. More than half the states now have legislation allowing charter schools and the number opening has tripled in the last two years. The enthusiasm could wane in the next few years and the number of charter schools dwindle or never amount to a sizeable movement. But the more pressing questions are how much autonomy they have and how accountable and effective they are. Charter schools first emerged when the state legislature in Minnesota passed a law allowing them in 1991.
Charter schools are public and nonsectarian.
They cannot ban any child from attending and they cannot charge tuition. For some charter schools in states with older laws, a reckoning is looming since five years is the most common deadline for renewal. One of the biggest issues that states will have to examine is the accountability required in exchange for the autonomy granted to charter schools. States with expansive laws, like Michigan and Arizona, cut the red tape and allow charter schools a lot of leeway. States with restrictive laws, like Hawaii and Rhode Island, discourage applicants because of all the hoops they must jump through to get a permit.