Public School Charters: An Incendiary Topic of Political Discourse

Abstract

Debate is intensifying in the United States with the rapid spread of charter schools and their domination of the education reform agenda. Controversy surrounds the very existence of public charter schools - an incendiary if not polarizing topic of political discourse - while the sector expands. The authors traced the pros and cons in the discussion by analyzing relevant literature (e.g., empirical research), public documents, and media sources. The complex snapshot presented signals deep discord in the public charter school movement. A creation story underlies how public charter schools came to be and the endless struggle over education reform. A narrative emerged about the past, present, and future of the charter school movement and battles over market-based solutions to public education problems that force the privatization of public education. Informed by both sides of the charter polemic, the authors developed an unusual collaboration as a critic (first author) and an advocate (coauthor). Mirroring the charter debate’s two-sided argument, the intention for this writing was to offer a gateway to productive albeit challenging discourse in a landscape that is deeply divisive and combative. The work ends with reflection on the present and future of public charter schools, and considers where shifts or anticipated ruptures or controversies can be expected to arise. This chapter’s distinctiveness is that it illuminates critical aspects of the charter debate in contemporary times, weighs pros and cons of charter schools, and advances recommendations.