The board’s measured approach to approving new charter schools can be attributed in large part to Mississippi’s high standards for charter operators. With a high bar for both quality and fidelity to statute, Mississippi is on a path to ensuring that only the best charter schools are allowed to serve our children. The strength of our charter school policies was recognized today in a new report from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which ranked Mississippi third out of 43 states for best practices in authorizing new charter schools. Kudos to the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board and to legislators who fought hard to write into law charter school policies that will benefit children in underperforming schools while protecting Mississippi from poor quality or profit-driven charter operators.
