Massachusetts, which previously had allowed only new charter schools sponsored by the state, amended its law and created Horace Mann charters converted public schools that must receive approval by the local school district and teachers union before applications are sent to the state. The diversity of types of agencies is also represented in the different relationships and processes established for chartering. Appendix L describes in greater detail a way of grouping some of the interrelationships created by state legislative provisions regarding who can grant charters. Although caps on the number of charter schools have been an obstacle to charter school growth in some states, the overall trend is to loosen or expand these limits over time. Formal caps on the numbers of charter schools are an interesting political indicator of a state s willingness to engage in charter school reform.
Some states are clearly more cautious than others in the number of charter schools they allow.
However, over the last few years, legislative trends have pointed in the direction of lifting caps in several states. In addition, respondents in states that have caps frequently cited attempts that have been made to raise or eliminate them. This trend began, in some states, even before the federal reauthorization of the Public Charter Schools Program, which now places a priority on grants to states with legislation that encourages increasing the number of high-quality charter schools. Another 42 percent have an overall statewide cap or regional restrictions that add up to a statewide cap. At the same time, certain high-incidence states, like California and Florida, do have total statewide caps, but they are very high or have been expanded over time.