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Issue Explainer

Charter School Accountability

As taxpayer-funded schools, charter schools must be held to the same standards of accountability, transparency, and equity as traditional district public schools.
Published: December 6, 2021

All students—Black, white and brown —deserve a high-quality education in safe and welcoming public schools.

Educators originally supported charter schools as a place to experiment with educational ideas within the school system. Instead, political cynics and billionaire hobbyists have turned charter schools into a separate, overlapping set of schools that play by their own rules.

Although some charter schools are excellent and offer valuable contributions to their communities, many charters are corporate chains or run by financiers who put profit over students.

NEA opposes the failed experiment of largely unaccountable privately managed charter schools. NEA supports non-profit public charter schools that are authorized and held accountable by local democratically elected school boards.

The growth of charters has undermined local public schools and communities without producing any overall increase in student learning and growth.


Frequently Asked Questions about Charter Schools

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National Education Association

Great public schools for every student

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.