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Abstract
This paper examines the diffusion of charter school legislations throughout the fifty states. Event history analysis is used to assess why certain states adopted charter school legislation and why some states adopted such legislation earlier than others. Results show that several state level characteristics are associated with higher odds of enacting charter school legislation of which the most noted is state school segregation levels. The data suggests a correlation between racism and the geo-temporal diffusion of charter school legislation.
Key Words: Charter Schools; Racism; Diffusion Studies; Event History Analysis; Segregation.
Charter schools emerged in the early 1990's as a new idea for public school reform. Charter schools were presented as an alternative school choice option that can circumvent state and national bureaucratic controls that were perceived as hindering public schools reform efforts. The thinking behind the charter school idea is that the more autonomous a school is, the more the school will become an effective organization that is free to innovate and more attuned to the needs of the students (Chubb and Moe, 1990). In essence, charter schools have more independence and can allow parents and teachers to have greater say in how they are run. The "charter" establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's goals. The charter may be granted by a local school board, a state board of education, or a public institution of higher education, depending upon the state. Within three to five years time, if the school's goals (fiscal and academic) are not met, then the school is at risk of losing its charter and can be forced to shut down.
The charter school initiative emerged as part of the school choice movement that gained momentum after the publication of a study by The National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE) in 1983 called "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform" that underlined key weaknesses in the American public schooling system (NCEE, 1983). By the mid 1980's, an increased number of parents began to take their children out of public schools and enroll them in alternative schools. Among the alternatives were magnet and charter schools. More controversial alternatives also emerged such as voucher based education and home schooling (Van Galen and Pittman, 1991).