Number Districts Authorizing Charter Schools Jumps, NACSA Study Shows

The number of school districts authorizing charter schools has increased by about 37 percent during the past three years, a sign that charters are increasingly an established part of public education, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA).

“The State of Charter School Authorizing 2010: Third Annual Report on NACSA's Authorizer Survey” shows that, in 2010, 857 of the 955 charter school authorizing entities in the nation were school districts, according to a NACSA statement about its study. Since 2008, NACSA has identified 233 school districts that have authorized their first charter school, an average of about 78 new school district authorizers per year.
The trend of increasing numbers of district authorizers is likely to continue as "more states seek to reform their charter laws and as local elected officials turn to charter schools as a means to improve public education,” according to NACSA. The findings also show a need to be alert to the potential impact on charter school autonomy.