Brodie Family Lecture | Charter Schools at 30: What Does the Research Say?

2021 marks 30 years since Minnesota enacted the first U.S. charter school law in 1991. More than three million students across all but five states are now enrolled in charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed. Charter supporters and opponents both claim the mantle of social justice, with supporters arguing that charters are a needed option for students who are poorly served by the traditional public school system and opponents positing that charters are of uneven quality and undermine the success of traditional schools.