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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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma State Legislature approved Oklahoma's charter school law in 1997.

The concept of creating public charter schools as alternatives to traditional public schools was first brought to public attention in the late 1980s by a small group of policymakers and educators. The notion gained traction in the early 1990s, and 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]

Oklahoma's charter school law was passed in 1997.

Participation[edit]

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 35total charter schools in Oklahoma in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 20,000 students. Overall, charter school students accounted for 2.92 percent of total public school enrollment in Oklahoma in 2015.^[6]

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 Oklahoma 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.^[7][8]

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:^[9]

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 Oklahoma as of June 2016. Click [show] to expand the table's contents.

Enrollment regulations[edit]

Charter schools in Oklahoma are required to give enrollment preference to students within the district where the school is located, who currently attend a poorly performing school. Schools may also limit enrollment to students who qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. The law states that if demand from “interested eligible students” exceeds space, a lottery must be used to determine enrollment.^[10][11]

The law does not require that enrollment must be open to all students in the state. However, it does prohibit charter schools from discriminating for any reason prohibited by federal law.^[10][11]

Funding[edit]

Charter school financing differs from state to state, and even between districts within states. In Oklahoma, charter schools are funded according to who authorizes them. For schools authorized by a local school board, the total amount of state aid given to the district is dependent upon the number of students in charter schools and traditional schools. The appropriate amount of funding is then distributed to charter schools by the school board. Schools sponsored by any other entity receive their funding directly from the Oklahoma State Board of Education. Authorizers may retain 5 percent of the funds for administrative costs.^[12]

The state provides some grants for start-up costs and facilities acquisition and renovation. The law stipulates that facilities grants may only be given to charter schools that can match no less than 10 percent of the grant with their own funds.^[12]

Accountability[edit]

See also: Accountability measures for charter schools

Oklahoma law states that charter contracts must outline the duties of the school, and schools must submit annual reports to the Oklahoma Office of Accountability detailing academic and financial performance. They must also undergo the same academic and financial monitoring procedures as district schools.^[10]

If a school does not meet the duties of its contract, there are no corrective measures outlined in the law besides revocation of the charter. Authorizers must, however, notify schools of the intent to deny renewal eight months before the end of the charter term.^[10]

The Oklahoma State Board of Education must submit an annual report to the legislature and governor that covers the academic and financial performance of charter schools statewide. There is no method outlined in the law to provide oversight of authorizers.^[10]

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. Oklahoma's law ranked 19 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 Oklahoma's score with that of neighboring states. To access the full report, including methodology, click here.^[13]

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.^[14]

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. Oklahoma was not studied.^[15]

Charter school management organizations and other groups[edit]

See also: Charter school management organization

The majority of Oklahoma’s charter schools are freestanding, meaning they do not contract with a charter school management organization for education services. In the 2010-2011 school year, 17 schools in Oklahoma were freestanding, one operated under charter management organizations, and zero operated under education management organizations.^[16]

Oklahoma has one charter school advocacy organization, the Oklahoma Charter Schools Association.^[17]

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 Oklahoma, an average of 41 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 Oklahoma as a percentage of all charter schools in the state. The figures are compared with those in surrounding states.^[18]

Ballot measures and legislation[edit]

Ballot measures[edit]

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

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

Legislation[edit]

The following is a list of recent charter school bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma
• School choice in Oklahoma
• Oklahoma 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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