Corrected: A previous version of this story had an incorrect name for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
The topic of education has been largely absent from the presidential race, and debate over charter schools鈥攐nce a marquee issue in the national discourse about education鈥攅specially so.
But the upcoming elections still stand to impact the publicly funded, privately run schools that have found favor with previous administrations from both parties.
From big constitutional questions around the push for religious charter schools to more practical, local concerns such as procuring facilities and hiring teachers, the charter school sector faces a number of challenges that could be affected by the 2024 elections.
It may seem like charter schools have largely receded from the national political spotlight, eclipsed by the expansion of state policies to give families public money through education savings accounts, or ESAs, to send their kids to private schools or home school. But that鈥檚 not the case in many states and cities, said Todd Ziebarth, the senior vice president for state advocacy and support for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
鈥淪ometimes if you go by the various headlines, you would think that the charter school movement is done for, and there鈥檚 that narrative out there,鈥� said Ziebarth. 鈥淏ut if you look at the reality in terms of parent demand and state action to make improvements, things are alive and well and moving forward, even in light of ESAs.鈥�
The number of students attending charter schools nationwide more than doubled between 2010 and 2021, to 3.7 million from 1.8 million, and the number of charter schools rose by almost 50 percent, . During the same period, the number of traditional public schools nationally fell. Charter schools also kept up their enrollment growth during the pandemic, even as it鈥檚 declined at traditional public schools.
That doesn鈥檛 mean there aren鈥檛 road bumps for the charter sector, Ziebarth said. Finding facilities to house charter schools, for example, continues to be a challenge, as many state laws don鈥檛 guarantee facility funding in their charter laws.
And strong political pushback to charters persists, Ziebarth said. In blue states, like California, where private school choice policies are unlikely to gain much if any momentum, opposition to charter schools remains strong. November elections could also shift the balance against charter schools in a few key states, Ziebarth said, in particular gubernatorial and legislative elections in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.
At the same time, some charter school proponents say that universal private school choice programs have distracted school choice opponents, providing charter school advocates with cover to promote their preferred policies in relative peace.
This year鈥檚 Republican Party platform doesn鈥檛 even mention charter schools, while it does call for universal private school choice in every state. Ballot initiatives in a handful of states, such as Colorado and Kentucky, would amend state constitutions to remove barriers to private school choice 辫谤辞驳谤补尘蝉鈥�and also, in Kentucky鈥檚 case, charter schools.
Both the Republican Party platform and Project 2025, a sweeping conservative policy agenda crafted by the Heritage Foundation and several members of former President Donald Trump鈥檚 previous administration, propose eliminating the Education Department, which could affect important funding streams for charters, such as Title I and the Charter Schools Program. Project 2025 also calls specifically for eliminating Title I funding for schools serving high concentrations of low-income students.
鈥淔ederal funding is not the lion鈥檚 share of school funding, but it鈥檚 important, and it would have dire consequences,鈥� said Robert Kim, executive director of the Education Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization. 鈥淚 think that should be a cause for concern for all public schools, including charter schools.鈥�
How 鈥榬eligious鈥� charters could change the educational landscape
While charters may have faded somewhat from the political discourse, that doesn鈥檛 mean they don鈥檛 have the potential to shake up public education, said Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.
One issue where charter schools have been making a significant number of national headlines is with the attempt by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa to open a virtual, statewide Catholic charter school. The state鈥檚 supreme court ruled that unconstitutional, but experts anticipate the case will eventually end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. (The state board that oversees charter schools in Oklahoma on Oct. 7 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state supreme court鈥檚 decision.)
While the question of religious charter schools will not be an issue decided by the 2024 elections, said Green, it鈥檚 on policymakers鈥� radars.
鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly something that states are paying attention to, or should be,鈥� he said.
The Democratic Party platform does address charter schools and calls for them to meet the same 鈥渢ransparency standards as public schools.鈥� It also says that 鈥減ublic tax dollars should never be used to discriminate"鈥攍ikely a reference to private school choice programs directing money to religious schools that don鈥檛 follow anti-discrimination laws.
That position is difficult to square with the concept of religious charter schools, said Green.
If a religious charter school is allowed, 鈥渢hat opens up the possibility of this same question occurring in blue states, that may not have voucher laws, but may have charter schools that are seen in the eyes of the Supreme Court as run by private boards, they could teach religious things,鈥� he said, depending upon the details of any potential ruling. 鈥淚鈥檓 just saying though the national narrative has moved on, don鈥檛 sleep on the charter school question.鈥�
How the election could affect federal funding for charters
While for the most part, the electoral contests that will matter most to charter schools are happening at the state level, there is one way charter schools may be impacted by the presidential election: the Charter Schools Program.
The federal program provides grants to states and nonprofit charter school management groups to open new charter schools. It also provides schools with facility financing help. The Biden administration placed additional requirements on the program by, for example, requiring applicants to conduct a 鈥渘eeds analysis鈥� to prove a need for their new charter school. These new rules were not popular with many charter school advocates, including the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and Project 2025 calls for rolling back those regulations.
Shavar Jeffries, the CEO of the KIPP Foundation, said the Charter School Program has been important for the expansion of KIPP Public Schools, one of the largest charter school networks in the country, and others like it. It should receive more funding, he said.
鈥淗ere at KIPP鈥攂ut charter schools more broadly鈥攃lear, third-party, independent studies speak to the impact of our work in closing and even reversing opportunity and achievement gaps,鈥� Jeffries said. 鈥淪o, the CSP program should be increased significantly given the results we have seen and sadly now has been held flat. We have to fight every year to preserve the dollars that already have been made available.鈥�
Funding for the program has remained at $440 million a year since 2019.
But ask Jeffries what the biggest challenges facing charter schools are, and several items are going to resonate with traditional district and school leaders: the ESSER funding cliff, learning loss, absenteeism, recruiting teachers, and access to rigorous college-preparation coursework such as Advanced Placement.
The big story this election鈥攁nd the big missed opportunity鈥攊s how little education issues have been discussed this election, given the challenges U.S. schools are still facing from the pandemic, he said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still in the midst of a historic shock to the system as it relates to educational opportunity for 50 million American public school children, and the fact that isn鈥檛 a primary part of the presidential campaign and the campaigns for Congress is absurd, frankly,鈥� he said.
