| Table 1.11. Charter school teacher certification and student accountability characteristics, by state: 2008 |
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| Alabama | † | † |
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| Alaska | Required | Statewide assessments; district may require other assessments in the charter. The academic policy committee must provide a description of the educational program with specific levels of achievement for the educational program. |
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| Arizona | Not required | Students must participate in the Arizona standardized test and the nationally standardized norm-reference achievement test as designated by the state board. Also, the school must complete and distribute an annual report card. |
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| Arkansas | Required for teachers in limited charters. Some charters may request a waiver from certification requirements. | Student performance shall be based on assessment instruments adopted by the state board of education and in compliance with any accountability provision specified by the charter, by a deadline, or at intervals specified by the charter. |
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| California | Required | Charter schools shall meet all statewide standards and conduct the pupil assessments required and any other statewide standards required in statute or pupil assessments applicable to pupils in traditional public schools. |
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| Colorado | Required, may be waived | Charter schools must participate in statewide assessments administered under the Colorado student assessment program, and provide a timeline for achievement of the school's student performance standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that student performance at the independent charter school fails to meet such standards. |
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| Connecticut | 50 percent must be certified, but law allows for alternate certification. | The charter school must describe a means to assess student performance that includes participation in statewide mastery examinations. Renewal may involve an independent appraisal of the school. |
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| Delaware | At least 65 percent must be certified; alternative certification criteria are specified in law. | The school must set goals for student performance and will utilize satisfactory indicators to determine whether its students meet or exceed such goals and the academic standards set by the state. The indicators shall include the assessments required for students in other public schools, although the charter school may adopt additional performance standards or assessment requirements, and shall include timelines for the achievement of student performance goals and the assessment of such performance. |
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| District of Columbia | Not required | All state district standards/assessments apply to charter schools. Charter school must obtain accreditation from an accrediting body deemed appropriate by the chartering authority; if school includes preschool or kindergarten, it must be licensed as a child development center by the District of Columbia government. |
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| Florida | Required, with waivers in specific but narrow circumstances. | Students in charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the statewide assessment program; and, as appropriate, the Florida Writes Assessment Test, the High School Competency Test, and other assessments administered. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduating must be provided. |
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| Georgia | Specified in the charter application | A plan for improvement that addresses how the charter petitioner proposes to improve student learning and meet minimum state standards. |
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| Hawaii | Required | The charter school must provide a plan for a comprehensive assessment and accountability system that meets or exceeds the established state educational content and performance standards as well as any other specific student outcomes to be achieved, and making this plan accountable to the general public. |
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| Idaho | Required | Students of the charter school will be tested with the same standardized tests as other Idaho public school students. |
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| Illinois | As of 2006, either 50 percent or 75 percent of teachers in Chicago charter schools must be certified, depending on the year the school was established. Uncertified teachers must have a bachelor's degree, 5 years of experience in area of degree, passing score on state teacher tests, and evidence of professional growth; mentoring must be provided to uncertified teachers. | The charter school must meet all achievement goals, standards, and assessments established by the state. |
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| Indiana | Required, but allows for an alternate route, through the "Transition to Teaching" program. | The charter must provide evidence of improvement in assessment measures, including Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress and Graduation Qualifying Exam, attendance rates, graduation rates (if appropriate), increased numbers of Core 40 diplomas (if appropriate), and increased numbers of academic honors diplomas (if appropriate). |
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| Iowa | Required | The school must comply with all state public school accountability measures, including annual testing. |
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| Kansas | Required, waiver may be granted. | Charter must describe manner of student participation in state assessment program, and include an examination of how pupil performance in achieving the specified outcomes will be measured, evaluate, and reported. |
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| Kentucky | † | † |
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| Louisiana | 75 percent must be certified, others must be seeking a permanent license, have a bachelor's degree, 10 years teaching experience, demonstrate expertise in their field, and teach under the supervision of a certified teacher. | Charter schools must regularly assess the academic progress of their pupils, including the participation in the state testing programs, and share such information with parents. The state department of education shall work directly with each school regarding the implementation of the state testing program. No charter will be renewed unless the students demonstrate academic improvement over the term of the school's existence. |
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| Maryland | Required | The charter school must abide by the same federal and state assessments as a traditional public school. |
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| Maine | † | † |
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| Massachusetts | All teachers must be certified or pass the Massachusetts Educator Test. | Students in charter schools shall be required to meet the same performance standards, testing and portfolio requirements set by the board of education for students in other public schools. |
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| Michigan | Required, except that faculty at a university or community college may teach in a charter school sponsored by that institution. | The progress of the pupils in the public school academy shall be assessed using at least a Michigan Education Assessment Program test or an assessment instrument to administer a state-endorsed high school diploma. |
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| Minnesota | Required | A charter school must design its programs to at least meet the outcomes adopted by the commissioner for public school students. In the absence of the commissioner's requirements, the school must meet the outcomes contained in the contract with the sponsor. The achievement levels of the outcomes contained in the contract may exceed the achievement levels of any outcomes by the commissioner for public school students. |
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| Mississippi | At least 90 percent must be certified. | The charter school must describe a plan for school improvement that addresses how the school proposes to work toward improving student learning and meeting state education goals. An assessment has to be made of the students' academic progress in the charter school as measured, where available, against the academic year immediately preceding the first year of the charter school's operation. |
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| Missouri | At least 80 percent of full-time staff must be certified. | Design a method to measure pupil progress toward the pupil academic standards adopted by the state board of education, collect baseline data during at least the first 3 years for determining how the charter school is performing, and participate in the statewide system of assessments. Also, complete and distribute an annual report card to its sponsor, the local school district, and the state board of education as to its teaching methods and any educational innovations and the results thereof. |
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| Montana | † | † |
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| Nebraska | † | † |
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| Nevada | 70 percent must be certified; in vocational schools, 50 percent must be certified; teachers may hold alternate licenses. | All statutes regarding student proficiency and achievement apply. |
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| New Hampshire | 50 percent of charter school teacher staff must be certified or have 3 years teaching experience. | Charter school students must participate in statewide assessment program. Also, by the end of its final year, the charter school shall meet or exceed the objective academic test results or standards and goals set forth in its application. If the school does not meet these standards and goals, it shall not be eligible for renewal of its charter. |
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| New Jersey | Required | The attainment of the Core Curriculum Content Standards and the delivery of an educational program leading to high student academic achievement are required. Statewide Assessment Program results and local assessment results of students are presented in an annual report to the local board of education, the county superintendent of schools, and the Commissioner of Education. |
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| New Mexico | Required | Charter school must provide a description of the student performance plan that will be used to measure student progress toward achievement of the types of assessments that will be used to measure student progress toward achievement of the state's standards and the school's performance standards, the timeline for achievement of the standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action if student achievement falls below the standards. |
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| New York | 30 percent or no more than five teachers per school are permitted to have alternative certification; uncertified teachers must meet specified criteria. | State performance standards and Regents requirements apply as they do for other public schools. |
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| North Carolina | In elementary schools, 75 percent must be certified; in secondary schools, 50 percent must be certified. | The school shall design its programs to at least meet the student performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education and the student performance standards contained in the charter. A charter school shall conduct the student assessments required for charter schools by the State Board of Education. |
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| North Dakota | † | † |
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| Ohio | Required, but law allows for alternative certification; uncertified employees may teach up to 12 hours/week. | Requirements passed in 2005 require that charter schools must demonstrate annual yearly gains for at least 55 percent of their students over 3-year periods or be closed; authorizers subject to new sanctions for any schools chartered that do not meet minimum proficient requirements, and lose slots for charters they authorized that are closed. |
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| Oklahoma | Specified in the charter application. | A charter school shall participate in the testing as required by the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act and the reporting of test results as is required of a school district. A charter school shall also provide any necessary data to the Office of Accountability. |
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| Oregon | At least 50 percent of teachers must be certified or have a license. | All charter schools must abide by the statewide assessment system developed by the Department of Education. The school district in which the public charter school is located shall offer a high school diploma, certificate, Certificate of Initial Mastery or Certificate of Advanced Mastery to any public charter school student who meets the district's and state's standards for a high school diploma, certificate, Certificate of Initial Mastery or Certificate of Advanced Mastery. |
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| Pennsylvania | At least 75 percent must be certified. | All charter schools shall participate in the Pennsylvania state assessment system. Every year, the school must provide results of tests including criterion-references tests, curriculum-based assessments, ecological life skills assessments and other equivalent measures. |
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| Rhode Island | Required | The charter school must describe a plan for education, including the mission, objective, method of providing basic education, process for improving student learning, fulfilling the charter, and fulfilling state and national educational goals and standards. |
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| South Carolina | In conversions, 90 percent must be certified; in new starts, 75 percent must be certified. | Statewide assessments; charter school also must meet or exceed content standards of district. |
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| South Dakota | † | † |
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| Tennessee | Required | The school must comply with all state public school accountability measures, including annual testing. Charter schools must administer state value-added assessments for their students. |
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| Texas | Not required | Charters must participate in statewide testing systems in which scores are publicly reported to state. |
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| Utah | Required, but law allows for alternative certification. | Each participant school shall develop an accountability plan to measure student achievement against targets established by the school, including state core assessments and required Stanford Achievement Tests. |
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| Vermont | † | † |
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| Virginia | Required | Same as public schools, charter schools shall be subject to the requirements of the Standards of Quality, including the Standards of Learning and the Standards of Accreditation. The school must describe the assessments to be used to measure pupil progress towards achievement of the school's performance standards; the timeline for achievement of such standards; and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that pupil performance at the public charter school falls below such standards. |
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| Washington | † | † |
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| West Virginia | † | † |
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| Wisconsin | Required, but if search for a licensed teacher is unsuccessful, a special charter school license is available for persons with bachelor's degree in their field who take 6 credits of training each year and are supervised by a teacher with a regular license. | Each operator of a charter school shall adopt pupil academic standards in mathematics, science, reading and writing, geography and history but must administer the state's reading comprehension exam and the grade knowledge and concepts exam in the appropriate grades. Also, every charter high school must administer the state's high school graduation examination that is designed to measure whether pupils meet the pupil academic standards. |
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| Wyoming | Required | Charter schools shall meet the state uniform educational program standards imposed upon public schools and the uniform state student performance standards prescribed by the state board of education, including compliance under the statewide assessment system. |
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† Not applicable. State does not have a charter school law.
SOURCE: Charter School Laws Across the States, Rankings and Scorecard: 2008, Center for Education Reform, 2008.
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