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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

Charter schools in Louisiana are public schools operated independently of public school systems, either by nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Although they are largely publicly funded, charter schools are exempt from many of the requirements imposed by state and local boards of education regarding hiring and curriculum. As public schools, charter schools cannot charge tuition or impose special entrance requirements; students are usually admitted through a lottery process if demand exceeds the number of spaces available in a school. Charter schools generally receive a percentage of the per-pupil funds from the state and local school districts for operational costs based on enrollment. In most states, charter schools do not receive funds for facilities or start-up costs; therefore, they must rely to some extent on private donations. The federal government also provides revenues through special grants. As of March 2017, 44 states and the District of Columbia had approved legislation authorizing the creation of public charter schools. Six states had not.

Background[edit]

History[edit]

The Louisiana State Legislature approved Louisiana's charter school law in 1995.

In 1991 Minnesota became the first state to pass a charter school law.^[1]

The National Conference of State Legislatures defines charter schools as follows:^[2]

Across the nation, charter schools have grown in number since the passage of the first public charter school law. As of March 2017, 44 states plus the District of Columbia had enacted charter school laws, and in 2013 it was estimated that 4.6 percent of all public school students attended charter schools. Performance results of charter schools nationally have been mixed, with some performing demonstrably better and others closing because they could not meet required standards.^[2][4][5]

Louisiana's Charter School Law took effect in 1995. The 1995 law established a pilot program, which allowed up to eight school districts to participate. In 1997, the law underwent substantial revisions. The 1997 law extended the charter school program to all school districts in the state but limited the total number of charter schools to 42. A constitutional amendment was passed in 2003 that "authorized [the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education] to take over 'failing schools' or provide for others to do so." In 2009, the Louisiana State Legislature removed the cap on the total number of charter schools.^[6][7][8]

Participation[edit]

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 143 total charter schools in Louisiana in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 80,100 students. Overall, charter school students accounted for 11.21 percent of total public school enrollment in Louisiana in 2015.^[9]

Demographics[edit]

See also: Charter school demographics and Demographic information for all students in the United States

The table below presents information about the race/ethnicity of charter school students in Louisiana in the 2013-2014 school year, as reported by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. To facilitate comparison, the same figures are also provided for all public school students.^[10][11]

State law[edit]

Authorizers[edit]

Charter school authorizers are, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), the organizations "designated to approve, monitor, renew, and, if necessary, close charter schools." NASCA has identified six primary types of charter school authorizers:^[12]

1. Higher education institutions (HEI)
2. Independent charter boards (ICB)
3. Local education agencies (LEA)
4. Non-education government entities (NEG)
5. Not-for-profit organizations (NFP)
6. State education agencies

The table below lists charter school authorizers in Louisiana as of June 2016. Click [show] to expand the table's contents.

Enrollment regulations[edit]

Charter schools are permitted to utilize "mission-oriented, non-achievement based admissions criteria." Specific enrollment criteria vary according to the type of charter school. Generally speaking, the following rules apply:^[13]

1. Type 1 charter schools "can only enroll students within the school district in which the school is located unless an agreement is reached with another school district for the transfer of ... funding for students residing in that alternate district."
2. Type 2 charter schools "can enroll students from across the state."
3. Type 3 charter schools "must serve all students already enrolled at the time of the conversion [and] may give preference to students within the school's geographic community when designing procedures for enrolling new students."
4. Type 5 charter schools "must serve all students already enrolled at the time of takeover [and] may reserve up to 50 percent of seats for students within neighborhood geographic boundaries."

Funding[edit]

In Louisiana, some charter schools receive their funding directly from the state.

Charter schools authorized by local school boards receive funding from local school districts. State-authorized charter schools are directly funded by the state. According to the Education Commission of the States, funding amounts are calculated as follows:^[13][14]

Furthermore, the state provides no-interest loans to charter schools for start-up costs. These loans are available in amounts of up to $100,000.^[14]

Accountability[edit]

See also: Accountability measures for charter schools

Charter schools in Louisiana are not required to submit annual performance reports, but they must "undergo a review process by the authorizer every three years." Charter schools are subject to financial audits.^[14]

According to the Education Commission of the States, a school's charter can be revoked if the school does any of the following:^[14]

Charter school law rankings[edit]

In January 2016, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released a report ranking all of the nation's charter school laws. Louisiana's law ranked 4 out of 43. The organization ranked each state's law by considering what it called "20 essential components of a strong charter school law." The table below compares Louisiana's score with that of neighboring states. To access the full report, including methodology, click here.^[15]

Issues[edit]

Debate[edit]

Proponents of charter schools such as the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools argue that, due to their freedom from some state oversight and regulation, they can adopt more innovative educational approaches. This allows them to cater to their particular higher-risk school age populations, which are generally composed of more minority and poor students. In addition, advocates argue that charter schools empower parents and improve traditional public schools through competition.

Meanwhile, critics such as Diane Ravitch argue that charter schools have not been proven to produce significantly higher levels of academic achievement as promised. It is difficult to find data comparable to traditional public schools. Critics also contend that charter schools divert funds from traditional public schools, which continue to enroll significant majorities of public school students, thereby compounding problems at failing schools and generating unequal outcomes for students.^[16]

Funding inequity[edit]

In 2014, the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform released a report identifying disparities between charter school funding and traditional public school funding. Examining 31 states, the researchers considered all sources of charter school funding, including public funds, grants, and philanthropic donations. Researchers found that charter schools received on average 28.4 percent less than traditional public schools. Tennessee's funding disparity was lowest at 0.1 percent, while Louisiana's was highest at 58.4 percent.^[17]

Below is a chart that compares Louisiana's grade with those of surrounding states. To access the full report, click here.

Charter school management organizations and other groups[edit]

See also: Charter school management organization

In the 2010-2011 school year, 47 schools in Louisiana were freestanding, 38 operated under charter management organizations, and five operated under education management organizations.^[18]

The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools is the state's charter school advocacy group. Its mission statement is as follows:^[19]

Innovation[edit]

See also: Charter school innovation indicators and High-performing charter schools

Charter school proponents argue that charter schools have the freedom to adopt more innovative practices, which in turn lead to improved academic performance. To get a sense of the level of innovation occurring in charter schools, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools surveyed charter schools across the country on the various innovative education practices they employed. In Louisiana, an average of 27 percent of charter schools reported using innovative practices in the 2011-2012 school year. The table below displays the prevalence of a variety of innovative practices in Louisiana as a percentage of all charter schools in the state. The figures are compared with those in surrounding states.^[20]

Ballot measures and legislation[edit]

Ballot measures[edit]

See also: School choice on the ballot and List of Louisiana ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked no statewide ballot measures relating to school choice in Louisiana.

Legislation[edit]

The following is a list of recent charter school bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Louisiana state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Louisiana charter school. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Charter schools
• Charter school statistics for all 50 states
• School choice
• Public education in Louisiana
• School choice in Louisiana
• Louisiana Department of Education
• Charter school management organization

External links[edit]

• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
• National Association of Charter School Authorizers

Footnotes[edit]

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