Today’s Star Trib article highlights the issue we’ve recently identified as the most profound change to impact the charter movement in Minnesota’s since its founding in 1992: implementation of the authorizer provision from the 2009 charter law. It essentially requires all 52 authorizers to ‘re-up’ if they wish to continue to be authorizers.
It’s tough stuff coming from the Minnesota Department of Education, but we applaud them for their courage. They’ve worked very closely with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) to develop the criteria they are using. MDE’s effort is the bringing together of the collective experience and wisdom of a two decade effort in forty states as to how authorizers can and should be THE vehicle to ensure charter school quality that will move the needle on achievement.
This is going to be a tough ride. It goes against the core of our Minnesota Nice culture. But it is a critical and worthwhile change if we are to achieve the promise of high achieving charters schools in Minnesota in the coming years.