NACSA Blog

NACSA Blog

Press Releases


A Call for Quality: National Charter School Authorizers Group Says More Failing Schools Must Close For Reform to Fully Succeed

While a great many public charter schools are among their states’ best performers and are paving the way for educational innovation across the U.S., too many are failing to provide a quality …


National Association of Charter School Authorizers Issues Statement on Georgia Charter School Referendum

Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, issued the following statement today on the passage of Georgia’s charter school referendum: “By amending the constitution, voters have …


National Association of Charter School Authorizers Issues Statement on Presidential Election

Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, issued the following statement today on the results of the presidential election: “Like every president for the past twenty …


National Charter Organization Releases New Standards for Authorizers

The National Association for Charter School Authorizers released today its 2012 Principles & Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing, providing new standards for authorizers—the entities tasked with approving, monitoring and renewing the …


Mississippi’s New Charter Law a Win for State’s Children

Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, today issued the following statement regarding Governor Phil Bryant’s signature of Mississippi’s new charter school law: “Today, the future …


More on Authorizer Accountability in Michigan

Eastern Michigan University’s Charter Schools Office Director Malverne Winborne weighs in on the recent report commissioned by the Michigan State Board of Education comparing the performance of authorizer portfolios across the state. …


Postcard from the Statehouse: Austin, Texas

“Postcard from the Statehouse” will provide occasional updates on the travels of NACSA’s Policy Team as they advocate for strong authorizer policies across the country. Greetings from Texas!  Yesterday, the Senate Education Committee heard …


No Exit?

Imagine if you were in a contractual relationship with a service provider, and the provider told you that you couldn’t end the contract.  A recent case in Florida illustrates why NACSA recommends …


Access is Not Optional

By design, charter schools are supposed to be open to all students. The idea is that rather than gaining admission based on their zip code or test scores, charter school students are …


Septima Clark

Accepting Accountability

It is always disappointing when charter schools that are not meeting their performance expectations fight efforts to hold them accountable. We shouldn’t forget, though, that some charter schools will live up to …


Four Tips for Cage-Busting Authorizers

Rick Hess’s new book, Cage-Busting Leadership is out. Quality charter school authorizing often involves a lot of cage-busting. The vast majority of authorizers work in school districts–systems that are set up in …


Joint–Not-Central–Planning for All DC Public Schools

In the second post of a two-part series, Scott Pearson, Executive Director of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, addresses another big question raised in Emma Brown’s recent article on charter school growth in the nation’s capital: …


Silver Bullets and Unicorns

Silver bullets and unicorns have three important characteristics in common. 1.) They don’t exist; 2) No one older than 16 believes that they exist; and 3) anyone claiming that someone else believes …


School Performance Analysis 2.0

Guest Post from Rob Kimball, Sr. Director of Operations & Policy, Grand Valley State University Charter Schools Office Regardless of the size of an authorizer’s portfolio, a laser-like focus on school performance is critical to …


The Tide Rises in Washington D.C.

Scott Pearson, Executive Director of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, has a new two-part blog post up about the questions raised in Emma Brown’s recent article on charter school growth in the …