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Texas Charter School Legislation and the Evolution of Open-Enrollment Charter Schools Carrie Y. Barron Ausbrooks Edith J. Barrett Theresa Daniel The University of Texas at Arlington Citation: Ausbrooks, C. Y. B., Barrett, E. J. & Daniel, T. (2005 March 21). Texas charter school legislation and the evolution of open-enrollment charter schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13(21). Retrieved [date] from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v13n21/. This article was accepted by the previous Editor, Gene V Glass (1993-2004). Abstract This article chronicles the evolution of legislation for Texas open-enrollment charter schools to their implementation by demonstrating how these schools have (or have not) used their freedom from state-mandated requirements to develop innovative learning environments as well as to bring innovative curricula into the classroom. The investigative focus was on an analysis of Texas open-enrollment charter school legislation, from 1995 (74th legislative session) to the 77th legislative session in 2001, and the characteristics of the state’s 159 open-enrollment charter schools that were in operation during the 2001-2002 academic year. The authors found that charter school legislation has changed in response to concerns of all involved, and focuses on the need for balance between choice, innovation, and public accountability. Although charter schools are free from most state regulations, legislators were clearly interested in ensuring that this freedom does not impede charter schools’ ability to provide a quality education to all students who attend them. The currently operating open-enrollment charter schools in Texas are more racially and economically segregated than other public schools in the state, and charter schools that targeted students most at risk for dropping out of school (and returning students who had previously dropped out) differ from other schools in their stated teaching methods. Teacher turnover remains significantly greater than that for other public schools in the state. However, it does not appear to be specifically associated with schools that target disadvantaged students or minority students. The schools’ mission statements suggest that innovative school environments are a factor in school design. Texas is poised to continue along the public education choice model. Charter school legislation provides a framework upon which charter schools may build to meet the educational needs of the students who choose to attend them, including the freedom to be creative in meeting students’ unique needs. Questions remain about how and why charter schools exist and the contributions they make to the overall public school system, including whether charters are making a difference in what and how much children are learning. Access this article in PDF format.

The World Wide Web address for the Education Policy Analysis Archives is epaa.asu.edu Editor: Sherman Dorn, University of South Florida Production Assistant: Chris Murrell, Arizona State University General questions about appropriateness of topics or particular articles may be addressed to the Editor, Sherman Dorn, epaa-editor@shermandorn.com. The Commentary Editor is Casey D. Cobb: casey.cobb@uconn.edu. EPAA Editorial Board Michael W. Apple University of Wisconsin David C. Berliner Arizona State University Greg Camilli Rutgers University Linda Darling-Hammond Stanford University Mark E. Fetler California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Gustavo E. Fischman Arizona State Univeristy Richard Garlikov Birmingham, Alabama Gene V Glass Arizona State Univeristy Thomas F. Green Syracuse University Aimee Howley Ohio University Craig B. Howley Appalachia Educational Laboratory William Hunter University of Ontario Institute of Technology Patricia Fey Jarvis Seattle, Washington Daniel Kallós Umeå University Benjamin Levin University of Manitoba Thomas Mauhs-Pugh Green Mountain College Les McLean University of Toronto Heinrich Mintrop University of California, Los Angeles Michele Moses Arizona State University Gary Orfield Harvard University Anthony G. Rud Jr. Purdue University Jay Paredes Scribner University of Missouri Michael Scriven University of Auckland Lorrie A. Shepard University of Colorado, Boulder Robert E. Stake University of Illinois—UC Kevin Welner University of Colorado, Boulder Terrence G. Wiley Arizona State University John Willinsky University of British Columbia EPAA Spanish & Portuguese Language Editorial Board Associate Editors Gustavo E. Fischman Arizona State University & Pablo Gentili Laboratório de Políticas Públicas Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Founding Associate Editor for Spanish Language (1998—2003) Roberto Rodríguez Gómez Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Argentina Alejandra Birgin Ministerio de Educación, Argentina       Email: abirgin@me.gov.ar Mónica Pini Universidad Nacional de San Martin, Argentina       Email: mopinos@hotmail.com, Mariano Narodowski Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina       Email: Daniel Suarez Laboratorio de Politicas Publicas-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina       Email: daniel@lpp-buenosaires.net Brasil Gaudêncio Frigotto Professor da Faculdade de Educação e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brasil       Email: gfrigotto@globo.com Vanilda Paiva       Email:vppaiva@terra.com.br Lilian do Valle Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil       Email: lvalle@infolink.com.br Romualdo Portella do Oliveira Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil       Email: romualdo@usp.br Roberto Leher Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil       Email: rleher@uol.com.br Dalila Andrade de Oliveira Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil       Email: dalila@fae.ufmg.br Nilma Limo Gomes Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte       Email: nilmagomes@uol.com.br Iolanda de Oliveira Faculdade de Educação da Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brasil       Email: iolanda.eustaquio@globo.com Walter Kohan Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil       Email: walterko@uol.com.br Canadá Daniel Schugurensky Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada       Email: dschugurensky@oise.utoronto.ca Chile Claudio Almonacid Avila Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Chile       Email: caa@rdc.cl María Loreto Egaña Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigación en Educación (PIIE), Chile       Email: legana@academia.cl España José Gimeno Sacristán Catedratico en el Departamento de Didáctica y Organización Escolar de la Universidad de Valencia, España       Email: Jose.Gimeno@uv.es Mariano Fernández Enguita Catedrático de Sociología en la Universidad de Salamanca. España       Email: enguita@usal.es Miguel Pereira Catedratico Universidad de Granada, España       Email: mpereyra@aulae.es Jurjo Torres Santomé Universidad de A Coruña       Email: jurjo@udc.es Angel Ignacio Pérez Gómez Universidad de Málaga       Email: aiperez@uma.es México Hugo Aboites Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, México       Email: aavh4435@cueyatl.uam.mx Susan Street Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social Occidente, Guadalajara, México       Email: slsn@mail.udg.mx Adrián Acosta Universidad de Guadalajara       Email: adrianacosta@compuserve.com Teresa Bracho Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica-CIDE       Email: bracho dis1.cide.mx Alejandro Canales Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México       Email: canalesa@servidor.unam.mx Rollin Kent Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Puebla, México       Email: rkent@puebla.megared.net.mx Perú Sigfredo Chiroque Instituto de Pedagogía Popular, Perú       Email: pedagogia@chavin.rcp.net.pe Grover Pango Coordinador General del Foro Latinoamericano de Políticas Educativas, Perú       Email: grover-eduforo@terra.com.pe Portugal Antonio Teodoro Director da Licenciatura de Ciências da Educação e do Mestrado Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisboa, Portugal       Email: a.teodoro@netvisao.pt USA Pia Lindquist Wong California State University, Sacramento, California       Email: wongp@csus.edu Nelly P. Stromquist University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California       Email: nellystromquist@juno.com Diana Rhoten Social Science Research Council, New York, New York       Email: rhoten@ssrc.org Daniel C. Levy University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York       Email: Dlevy@uamail.albany.edu Ursula Casanova Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona       Email: casanova@asu.edu Erwin Epstein Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois       Email: eepstei@wpo.it.luc.edu Carlos A. Torres University of California, Los Angeles       Email: torres@gseisucla.edu