Virginia first passed its charter
school law in 1998. Changes made to the law in 2002 and 2004
were designed to help clear the way for building a stronger charter
school movement, by removing obstacles and ensuring that applications
get considered fairly. In 2009, Governor Kaine signed legislation authored by Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter to make these changes permanent, and also to remove the caps on the number of charter schools in the state.
Today, Virginia has 4
charter schools, with a fifth approved to open in Richmond next year.. But in response to both the success of charters
nationwide, and to the changes that have opened up the Commonwealth's
charter school laws, many communities have begun to consider charter
schools as a tool to increase options for parents.
Charter schools are nonsectarian, public schools of
choice. They are granted special autonomy to run independently of
their traditional local school system in exchange for meeting agreed-upon
levels of student academic performance. They can offer a specialized
and innovative educational vision, or simply represent a new choice
for parents. Charters are often smaller than other public schools,
allowing them to offer certain advantages by virtue of that smallness.
Nationally, there are currently over 4,500 charter schools serving over 1.4 million students. Nearly two-thirds of
these have waiting lists. Forty states and the District of Columbia
have charter school laws.
Charter schools also represent a valuable restructuring
tool for policymakers seeking to meet their communities' educational
needs. Any Virginia school failing to achieve at least 70 percent
of its students passing the SOL tests could lose its state accreditation.
At that point, such a school will have to have a corrective action
plan signed by its principal and superintendent, and then approved
by the local school board and State Board of Education. As this
deadline approaches, reorganization into charter schools offering
new approaches and options for parents will make great sense.
In addition, charter schools are an integral part
of the public school choice options required of school districts
by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. These are options for parents
of children served by schools that have been designated chronically
underperforming or “in need of improvement.”
The Virginia Charter School Resource Center
was created to provide information, technical and other assistance
wherever possible to help energize a robust charter school movement
for the Commonwealth. A project of the Lexington
Institute in Arlington, the Center can be reached at info@virginiacharterschools.org.
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