Charter Schools and School Psychology
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Charter Schools and School Psychology Craig L. Frisby 1
# California Association of School Psychologists 2019
Abstract Charter schools are a growing phenomenon in the contemporary educational landscape. In this article, charter schools are defined, and the various reasons that contributed to the creation of, and interest in, charter schools are briefly described. Select examples of successful, well-performing charters are profiled, along with criticisms of charter schools from various sectors. Eighty-nine trainers within school psychology programs throughout America responded to an anonymous online survey that asked their opinions on controversial topics related to charter schools, as well as indicating the extent to which their students were placed in charter schools for practica and internships within the past 5 years. Results indicated no clear imbalance of opinions on most controversial issues. However, a clear orientation against uncertified teachers working in charters, as well as an unwillingness to place students in charters without high quality services to children with disabilities, was observed. Implications of this research are then discussed. Keywords School psychology . Charter schools
What Are Charter Schools? Charter schools are independently created public schools that operate beyond the authority of the local school district and as such are free from many district rules. However, they are still accountable to the public through state-approved authorities (called authorizers) for mutually determined results specifically outlined in a legally binding performance contract (called charters; Finn et al. 2016). A charter is a contract between an authorizer and a non-profit board seeking permission to operate a public school of choice (Angelov and Bateman 2016). The charter (i.e., contract) outlines specific performance expectations, in addition to a timeline by which the charter school must meet them. The essential justification that undergirds the charter school is that extending autonomy in exchange for accountability will encourage the development of high quality and innovative programs. These innovative programs, in turn, will attract families to enroll students by choice (Angelov and Bateman 2016). The idea behind the creation of charter schools began in 1988, when Albert Shanker, the former president of the American Federation of Teachers, called for the * Craig L. Frisby [email protected] 1
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
establishment of publically funded private schools to function as laboratories for teacher-led innovations in instructional practices (Kahlenberg and Potter 2014–15). Minnesota was the first state to pass legislation in 1991 allowing for publically funded private schools (Finn et al. 2016). At the time of this writing, 43 states (including the District of Columbia) contain approximately 7000 charter schools that serve approximately 3.2 million students— representing approximately 6% of the U.S. public school enrollment. As of 2018, 17 states and the District o
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