| Abstract: | ABSTRACT State-by-state comparison of charter school laws is complicated by the wide variation in terminology and by the idiosyncratic impact that interpretation and implementation by mid-level administrators has on the actual way in which charter school laws work. In this regard, each state is different and true comparison can best be accomplished by parallel studies conducted by local practitioners or researchers in each state. Also, longitudinal studies which trace the evolution of legislation over time provide greater insight into a state's charter school legislative environment in the same way that longitudinal studies of student achievement provide more information than one-point-in-time assessments. This paper describes the first of such studies; a combined content-analysis and policy assessment of current charter school legislation in the state of Hawai'i. The current statutes are traced through eleven drafts and a 58-page report from a public Task Force brought into being as the result of earlier legislation. Lessons, which might be applied in other states, are explored. Similar studies of legislation in other states are proposed. doi:10.1300/J467v01n03_13 |
