States With No Charter Laws Alabama Iowa Indiana Kentucky Maryland Maine Montana North Dakota Nebraska South Dakota Tennessee Vermont Washington West Virginia |
The Center for Education Reform has developed a ranking of state charter laws, from the strongest to the weakest, based on how each law encourages or inhibits the development of autonomous charter schools. CER takes each of 10 criteria conducive to the creation of charter schools and awards each state’s specific charter school legislation a score of 0 to 5, based on how well the law meets each of the criteria (strongly support = 5; strongly restrict = 0).
CER defines strong or moderately effective charter laws as those which support, or are likely to support, at least some significant development of autonomous charter schools. Weak or ineffective laws are those which have thwarted, or are unlikely to spur, significant charter activity.
| Year | # of Charter Schools |
| 1991 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 |
| 1993 | 36 |
| 1994 | 84 |
| 1995 | 251 |
| 1996 | 442 |
| 1997 | 778 |
| 1998 | 1128 |
| 1998 | 1128 |
| 1999 | 1689 |
| 2000 | 2036 |
| 2000 GOAL | 3000 proposed by Bill Clinton |
About the Grades in the table below:
“A” (40-50 score): Laws contribute positively to charter school growth and development, and allow for a significant number of charter schools.
“B” (30-39 score): Laws allow for healthy growth of charter schools, but some significant provisions may impede growth.
“C” (20-29 score): Laws allow for a good number of schools, but pose significant challenges to a healthy charter environment.
“D” (10-19 score): Laws allow conventional education bureaucracies to regulate the establishment and operation of charter schools, discouraging the opening of schools.
“F” (0-9 score): Charter laws in name only, offering no real environment for charter schools.
| Grade | State | Rank 2000 | Rank 1999 | Number of Charter Schools | Year Charter Law Passed | Total Score | Number of schools allowed | Multiple chartering authorities |
| A | Arizona | 1 | 1 | 417 | ’94 | 46.25 | 4.50 | 4.50 |
| A | Michigan | 2 | 2 | 184 | ’93 | 45.30 | 4.30 | 5.00 |
| A | Minnesota | 3 | 6 | 68 | ’91 | 45.00 | 5.00 | 4.50 |
| A | Dist. of Columbia | 4 | 3 | 36 | ’96 | 45.00 | 4.50 | 4.00 |
| A | Delaware | 5 | 4 | 7 | ’95 | 43.20 | 3.70 | 2.40 |
| A | Massachusetts | 6 | 5 | 41 | ’93 | 42.00 | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| A | Texas | 7 | 9 | 159 | ’95 | 40.75 | 4.00 | 3.25 |
| A | California | 8 | 10 | 274 | ’92 | 40.00 | 5.00 | 4.50 |
| A | Florida | 9 | 13 | 152 | ’96 | 40.00 | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| B | New York | 10 | 7 | 23 | ’98 | 39.60 | 2.30 | 3.30 |
| B | North Carolina | 11 | 8 | 90 | ’96 | 37.50 | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| B | Pennsylvania | 12 | 16 | 65 | ’97 | 36.75 | 5.00 | 3.25 |
| B | Colorado | 13 | 12 | 79 | ’93 | 36.50 | 4.50 | 3.00 |
| B | Missouri | 14 | 15 | 21 | ’98 | 36.10 | 2.30 | 4.00 |
| B | South Carolina | 15 | 11 | 8 | ’96 | 36.00 | 4.50 | 1.50 |
| B | Oregon | 16 | N/A | 12 | ’99 | 35.75 | 3.25 | 2.00 |
| B | New Jersey | 17 | 17 | 55 | ’96 | 34.00 | 4.00 | 3.30 |
| B | Oklahoma | 18 | N/A | 6 | ’99 | 33.50 | 2.50 | 2.00 |
| B | Wisconsin | 19 | 18 | 87 | ’93 | 30.20 | 5.00 | 3.50 |
| C | Illinois | 20 | 20 | 22 | ’96 | 28.00 | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| C | New Hampshire | 21 | 19 | 0 | ’95 | 27.70 | 1.70 | 0.70 |
| C | Georgia | 22 | 21 | 38 | ’93 | 27.00 | 5.00 | 1.00 |
| C | Ohio | 23 | 23 | 70 | ’97 | 27.00 | 1.70 | 2.70 |
| C | Louisiana | 24 | 14 | 23 | ’95 | 26.50 | 2.00 | 2.50 |
| C | Idaho | 25 | 24 | 9 | ’98 | 25.60 | 2.60 | 1.30 |
| C | Nevada | 26 | 27 | 7 | ’97 | 25.50 | 2.50 | 1.00 |
| C | Connecticut | 27 | 22 | 16 | ’96 | 23.00 | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| C | Utah | 28 | 25 | 8 | ’98 | 21.60 | 0.60 | 2.00 |
| C | Alaska | 29 | 26 | 17 | ’95 | 21.00 | 2.30 | 0.30 |
| D | New Mexico | 30 | 33 | 11 | ’93 | 18.75 | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| D | Hawaii | 31 | 32 | 6 ‘ | 94 | 16.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| D | Wyoming | 32 | 29 | 0 | ’95 | 15.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 |
| D | Rhode Island | 33 | 28 | 3 | ’95 | 14.50 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| D | Arkansas | 34 | 34 | 4 | ’95 | 13.50 | 2.50 | 1.00 |
| D | Virginia | 35 | 30 | 2 | ’98 | 11.90 | 1.60 | 1.00 |
| D | Kansas | 36 | 31 | 15 | ’94 | 11.30 | 0.70 | 0.00 |
| F | Mississippi | 37 | 35 | 1 | ’97 | 1.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Grade | State | Eligible charter applicants | New starts allowed | School may be started without formal evidence of local support | Automatic waiver from state and district laws | Legal/ operational autonomy | Guaranteed full per-pupil funding | Fiscal autonomy | Exempt from collective bargaining agreement/ district work rules |
| A | Arizona | 5.00 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 4.75 |
| A | Michigan | 4.70 | 4.70 | 5.00 | 2.70 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 4.00 |
| A | Minnesota | 5.00 | 4.50 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 4.50 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 4.50 |
| A | Dist. of Columbia | 5.00 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 5.00 | 4.50 | 4.50 | 4.50 | 5.00 |
| A | Delaware | 4.40 | 4.90 | 3.50 | 4.40 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 4.90 |
| A | Massachusetts | 4.30 | 5.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.70 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 4.30 |
| A | Texas | 4.25 | 4.75 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| A | California | 5.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 4.50 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| A | Florida | 5.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 4.50 |
| B | New York | 4.00 | 5.00 | 4.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 2.60 | 5.00 | 3.30 |
| B | North Carolina | 4.50 | 4.50 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.50 | 4.00 | 3.00 |
| B | Pennsylvania | 4.50 | 4.50 | 3.50 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.50 | 3.50 | 4.00 |
| B | Colorado | 4.00 | 3.25 | 3.00 | 3.25 | 2.75 | 3.75 | 4.50 | 4.50 |
| B | Missouri | 1.00 | 4.60 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.20 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| B | South Carolina | 3.50 | 3.50 | 2.00 | 4.50 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 4.50 | 3.50 |
| B | Oregon | 4.50 | 4.00 | 5.00 | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.25 | 2.50 | 4.25 |
| B | New Jersey | 4.00 | 4.30 | 3.00 | 1.00 | 4.70 | 2.00 | 5.00 | 2.70 |
| B | Oklahoma | 5.00 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 2.50 | 1.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 |
| B | Wisconsin | 4.60 | 4.60 | 2.10 | 2.90 | .00 | 1.40 | 1.80 | 1.30 |
| C | Illinois | 4.00 | 3.50 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.50 | 4.00 |
| C | New Hampshire | 3.70 | 3.70 | 0.00 | 4.70 | 3.70 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 4.70 |
| C | Georgia | 4.00 | 4.00 | 2.50 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| C | Ohio | 3.00 | 2.70 | 4.70 | 3.00 | 1.70 | 2.70 | 2.70 | 2.30 |
| C | Louisiana | 3.50 | 4.00 | 2.00 | 2.50 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 4.50 | 1.50 |
| C | Idaho | 3.00 | 4.80 | 1.00 | 4.30 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 1.60 | 4.00 |
| C | Nevada | 2.00 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 2.50 | 1.50 | 3.50 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| C | Connecticut | 1.50 | 3.50 | 1.00 | 2.50 | 0.50 | 3.50 | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| C | Utah | 4.30 | 4.10 | 2.50 | 0.60 | 1.60 | 0.30 | 1.30 | 4.30 |
| C | Alaska | 4.70 | 5.00 | 1.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.30 | 4.00 | 0.00 |
| D | New Mexico | 2.00 | 3.50 | 3.00 | 0.50 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| D | Hawaii | 1.50 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 4.50 | 0.50 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 0.00 |
| D | Wyoming | 4.30 | 4.00 | 1.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| D | Rhode Island | 2.50 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 3.50 | 1.50 | 0.00 |
| D | Arkansas | 2.50 | 3.50 | 2.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| D | Virginia | 2.60 | 2.30 | 2.60 | 0.60 | 0.60 | 0.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| D | Kansas | 4.30 | 4.70 | 1.00 | 0.30 | 0.00 | 0.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| F | Mississippi | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
