The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) is an avowedly left-wing organization that encourages DEI in charter authorizing and favors a technocratic, top-down vision of charter schooling over a parent-centric model. Nevertheless, the organization remains influential in setting standards for charter school authorizing, and, as an EFI report recently observed, that influence is in fact greater in red states where voters reject the worldview advanced by NACSA.
EFI Senior Fellow Ian Kingsbury and collaborators have spent years documenting the ways in which NACSA recommendations are harmful and at odds with the parent-centric vision of school choice now being popularly manifested through the introduction of universal education savings accounts. Before implementing NACSA recommendations, red state lawmakers would be wise to consider the following:
- NACSA is a vocal proponent of DEI. They offer resources on “closing the DEI gap in charter authorizing” and encourage authorizer partnerships with “DEI experts” who push divisive content. [1]
- Charter schools are often politically to the left of traditional public schools in part because of the technocratic (rather than local) control and philanthropic influence that NACSA endorses. [2]
- Charter leaders in states with greater fidelity to NACSA recommendations report less concern about satisfying enrolled families and more concern about test scores [3]
- Charter schools are less innovative in states that practice greater fidelity to NACSA recommendations. [4]
- NACSA recommendations are not associated with charter sector growth or stronger academic results. [5]
- NACSA recommendations make it harder to open a charter school. The penalty disproportionately impacts would-be charter leaders of color. [6]
- NACSA recommendation of auto-closure disproportionately culminates in the closure of schools serving minority students or operated by minority school leaders. [7]
Download the one-pager here: EFI-NACSA_PolicyEffects
