ERIC Number: ED512350
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Feb
Pages: 16
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Increasing Charter School Accountability through Interventions and Closures: A Guide For State Policymakers
Gustafson, Joey; Keller, Eric; LaVallee, Robert E.; Stewart, Nichole H.
Finance Project
A basic premise of charter school reform in public education is offering more autonomy in the use of funds and the design of curriculum in exchange for greater accountability in academic and financial outcomes. This premise poses a significant policy challenge for state policymakers to establish an appropriate level of regulation; charter schools must be sufficiently independent yet still conform to most state and federal education and financial management laws. This guide examines the laws, policies, and programs that states use to establish consequences for financial mismanagement in charter schools. It discusses how states define the financial conditions for intervention. It also describes the approaches to corrective actions for deficient charter schools and the procedures for closing charter schools. The guide reviews the prevalent policy options and provides examples from existing state laws and practices. It also raises issues that state policymakers may want to consider when adopting or amending approaches to establishing consequences for charter school financial mismanagement. Specifically, this guide will help state policymakers consider the various policy options for defining financial conditions for state intervention, determining appropriate corrective actions for deficient schools, and establishing procedures for closing schools. The guide concludes by stating that policymakers must create appropriate oversight procedures and processes for intervention and closure that are clear, fair, and effective. (Contains 4 footnotes and a list of resources.) [This publication was written with Nina Salomon and William Schmid and produced by the National Resource Center on Charter School Finance and Governance, a collaborative effort of the Center on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California, The Finance Project, and WestEd.]
Descriptors: Charter Schools, Intervention, Money Management, Laws, Accountability, Public Education, Educational Finance, Financial Support, School Closing, Public Officials, Educational Change, Institutional Autonomy, Curriculum Design, Educational Policy
Finance Project. 1401 New York Avenue NW Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-628-4200; Fax: 202-628-1293; e-mail: info@financeproject.org; Web site: http://www.financeproject.org
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Finance Project
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A