Louisiana’s Charter School Law Among Nation’s 10 Strongest, according to National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Report
Washington, DC – Louisiana ranks #9 in a National Alliance for Public Charter Schools report that was released today entitled “How State Charter Laws Rank Against the New Model Public Charter School Law.” The report evaluated state laws based on their commitment to values in the public charter school movement including quality and accountability, funding equity, facilities support, autonomy, and growth and choice.
“The charter law is the basis for the success of Louisiana’s charter schools and their ability to serve students. We are pleased to be recognized in the top ten states nationally for our commitment to the values of a quality public charter school movement, and hope to continue improving our law to allow for the most comprehensive promotion of quality and equity,” said Caroline Roemer Shirley, Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools.
Louisiana’s charter law was enacted in 1995, and in the past few years has been substantially strengthened. Most recently, in the 2009 legislative session, the cap on the number of charter schools allowed to operate statewide was completely removed. Also in 2009, the law has strengthened its approach to funding authorizers by setting a flat 2% administrative fee that acts as a dedicated stream of revenue for authorizers, both at the local and state level, which contributes to the high ranking.
A large indicator of Race to the Top grant application qualification is unofficially correlated to its relationship with the model charter law. Louisiana’s top ranking further confirms our high probability to qualify for and potentially receive these federal monies.
Each state law was evaluated against 20 components of a strong law, identified by the National Alliance in its June 2009 released model public charter school law. These components were measured and ranked according to their strength in these areas. Please visit www.publiccharters.org/charterlawrankings for the complete report and www.charterlaws.publiccharters.org for detailed state-by-state summaries, including Louisiana.
About Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools
The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) is a 501c3 non profit organization whose mission is to increase student achievement by supporting, promoting, and advocating for the quality charter school movement.