Charter School Reckoning: Decline, Disillusionment, and Cost Part 2: Disillusionment

For years, charter schools have been sold as innovative fixes for public education. Promoted as flexible, community-centered, and student-first, they were framed as a way to improve outcomes without bureaucracy. But a new report from the Network for Public Education shows that this promise has largely fallen apart.

Charter School Reckoning: Disillusionment documents a sharp decline in public support for charter schools as families confront the realities of weak oversight, financial mismanagement, and school closures. What began as a small experiment has grown into a fragmented, privatized system where corporate operators often face little accountability despite receiving public funds.

The consequences are real. Students are displaced when charter schools abruptly shut down, teachers face instability and fewer protections, and communities are cut out of decisions about schools that shape their neighborhoods. Rather than complementing public education, charter expansion has too often drained resources from democratically governed school systems.

As public trust erodes, the report makes one thing clear: privatization is not a sustainable education strategy. If we want equitable outcomes for students, the path forward is not more deregulation, it is renewed investment in accountable, fully funded public schools that serve the common good.

Charter School Reckoning Pt. 2

National Center for Charter School Accountability | December 2025