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Charter schools operate with considerably more independence than traditional public schools. However, Massachusetts has two kinds of charter schools - Commonwealth Charters and Horace Mann Charters. Horace Mann charter schools differ from Commonwealth charter schools as they must be located within a school district.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXII/Chapter71/Section89 )〕 Both kinds of charter schools are free to structure their curriculum and school environment; for instance, many charter schools fit more instructional hours into a year by running longer school days and providing instruction on weekends and during the summer. Because few charter schools are unionized, they can hire and fire teachers and administrative staff without regard to the collectively bargained seniority and tenure provisions that constrain such decisions in most public schools. Although charter students made up only 2.9 percent of U.S. public school enrollment in 2008–2009, charter enrollment has grown rapidly and seems likely to accelerate in the near future. The growth of charter schools is an important component of the contemporary education reform movement's pursuit of accountability and flexibility in public education. Proponents see charter schools' freedom from regulation as a source of educational innovation, with the added benefit of providing a source of competition that may prompt innovation and improvement in the rest of the public system. At the same time, charter schools are controversial because, after a transition period in which the state provides subsidies, they receive a tuition payment for each enrolled student paid by students' home districts. In Massachusetts, tuition payments are determined largely by the average per-pupil expenditure in sending districts. Not surprisingly, therefore, public school districts are concerned about the revenue lost when their students enroll in charter schools. There are 64 charter schools operating in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the 2010–2011 academic year. Individual school profiles are available at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Approximately 29,000 students are enrolled in Massachusetts charter schools, with another 26,000 students on the waitlist to attend one. ==Overview of Charter Schools in Massachusetts== The 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act opened the door to charter schools in Massachusetts. Non-profit organizations, universities, teachers and parents can apply to the state's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for a charter (there are no for-profit charter schools in Massachusetts). Massachusetts charter schools are generally managed by a board of trustees and are independent of local school committees. Like other public schools, charter schools charge no tuition and are funded mostly by sending districts according to formulas set by the state. Massachusetts charter schools have a number of organizational features in common with charter schools in other states. First, they are typically outside local collective bargaining agreements. As a result, they have greater flexibility than traditional public schools when it comes to staffing, compensation, and scheduling. The increased freedom coupled with increased accountability infuses all aspects of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's oversight of charter schools, beginning with the rigorous application process that groups must go through to receive a charter. Once the Board of Education has awarded a charter on the basis of a successful Application for a Public School Charter (step 1), the new charter school has the freedom to organize around the core mission, curriculum, theme, or teaching method described in the application. It is allowed to control its own budget and hire (and fire) teachers and staff. In return for this freedom, a charter school must demonstrate good results within five years or risk losing its charter. The Board of Education is obligated by Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71, Section 89, and regulations under 603 CMR 1.00 to conduct an ongoing review of charter schools and, by the fifth year of a school's operation, decide whether its charter should be renewed. Specifically, the renewal of a public school charter is based on affirmative information in three areas of inquiry: #Academic program success #Organizational viability #Faithful to the terms of the charter The State Board of Education authorizes two types of charter schools: Commonwealth charters are those approved directly by the state board; Horace Mann charters are normally conversion schools approved by the school board and teachers union before state approval. The current regulations on charter schools, put in place by the Education Reform Act of 1993, include several restrictions including: *No more than 9 percent of a school district’s spending can go to a charter school; 72 Commonwealth charters and 48 Horace Mann charters allowed *The number of charter schools in the state is limited to 120. *A maximum of 4 percent of the state’s student population may be enrolled in charter schools. *The first three charter school approvals every year must be in schools districts with average or below average performance on statewide standardized tests.〔 In the 2009–2010 school year, 26,384 Massachusetts students attended 62 operating charter schools, including 16 in Boston State law caps the number of charter schools at 72, and total enrollment at 30,034, so the statewide charter cap is not a constraint. However, a provision limiting local charter spending to nine percent of the district total generates binding or near-binding caps in specific districts, including Boston, where charter enrollment is already relatively high. The question of whether this local cap should be lifted is currently the subject of intense debate, fueled in part by the availability of federal stimulus money for states that facilitate new charters.〔 The governor’s proposal would increase the funding restriction from 9 percent to 18 percent in 30 of the state’s lowest performing districts. In Central Massachusetts, the districts in that group include: Southbridge, Worcester, Winchendon, Webster, Fitchburg, Athol-Royalson, North Brookfield and Gardner. In 2011, the state’s education commissioner has recommended 17 charter schools (14 Commonwealth charter schools and 3 Horace Mann)— including 10 in Boston — be granted charters by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charter School (Massachusetts)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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