Accountable to Whom and for What? Charter Regulation in the Era of ESSA

ABSTRACT

States vary widely in their approaches to charter school regulation. We administered online surveys to charter school leaders in four of the most stringently regulated states and three of the least stringently regulated states to examine how their approach might influence perceived school goals and levels of goal agreement. Generally, survey responses reveal that leaders in both settings perceive similar priorities from school stakeholders. However, charter leaders in low regulation states ascribe greater relative importance to satisfying enrolled families, report that charter authorizers are comparatively less concerned about test scores, and report less clarity regarding school goals. Implications are discussed.  

KEYWORDS:

• Charter Schools
• Regulation
• School Choice
• School Leadership

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Charter school “leader” provides a more accurate characterization of the job than does “principal,” as charter leaders undertake many of the same responsibilities as a district superintendent (Carpenter & Peak, 2013; Gawlik, 2015).