State Report Calls for Adding More Charter Schools

Saying charter schools generally have provided worthwhile alternatives to traditional public schools, the state legislative analyst’s office on Wednesday made recommendations to increase their numbers and to improve their oversight and financing.

Based on two statewide evaluations, the report concluded that charter schools “are meeting original legislative intent -- expanding families’ choices, encouraging parental involvement, increasing teacher satisfaction and raising academic achievement, particularly for certain groups of disadvantaged students.”

Charter schools are publicly funded, independent schools that enjoy some freedom from state regulations, with the expectation that flexibility will result in higher achievement and other gains for students.

Among the recommendations were to:

* Eliminate the limit on the number of charter schools allowed in the state. The current cap is 750, and 487 are either operating or awaiting approval.

* Restructure state funding mechanisms to give charter schools more flexibility in how they spend public funds.

* Strengthen oversight, in part by permitting universities, nonprofits and agencies other than school districts to authorize and keep tabs on charter schools and also by creating safeguards for better accountability.

* Limit the fees charged by overseers, specifically to 2% of a charter’s revenue for facilities and 1% for oversight costs.

The first charter schools in California opened in 1993, and the growing movement was evaluated twice by independent agencies under contract with the state.

The evaluations, by SRI International in 1997 and the Rand Corp. in 2003, largely form the basis of the state report.

“By implementing the legislative analyst’s recommendations, our Legislature can take a bold step, which will allow more charter schools the ability to improve public education and close the achievement gap,” Caprice Young, chief executive of the California Charter Schools Assn., said in a statement.