[complete report]

LAW

Year Passed

1999; last amended in 2007.

Rank

21st strongest of the nation's 41 charter laws.

Grade

C

GENERAL DATA

• Moratorium on virtual schools’ enrollment limits this option

• Charter school growth has been consistent, but creating an independent authorizer is key to high-quality schools

• Local boards do not adhere to the written state law

INDEPENDENT OR MULTIPLE AUTHORIZERS - NO

Approval

School boards

Appeal

Yes. Applications denied by the school board may be appealed to the State Board of Education, which may become the sponsor.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ALLOWED

Cap

No cap

OPERATIONAL AUTONOMY

State

Limited. Charters receive a blanket waiver from most rules and regulations. Virtual schools are allowed but an enrollment moratorium was issued on enrollment in 2009 unless certain conditions are met.Management contracts with ESPs are not restricted.

Local

No. School boards have discretion.

Teacher Freedom

Yes. Teachers may negotiate as a separate unit with the governing body, or work independently. Eligible to participate in all benefits programs open to public school employees.

EQUITY

Student Funding

• Formula funds charters anywhere between 80–95 percent based on daily expenditures not revenue.

• If enrollment drops annually, funding decreases, but the same is not true for conventional schools.

• Funds pass through district.

"A school district shall contractually establish, with any public charter school that is sponsored by the board of the school district, payment for provision of educational services to the public charter school's students. The payment shall equal an amount per weighted average daily membership (ADMw) of the public charter school that is at least equal to:(a) Eighty percent of the amount of the school district's General Purpose Grant per ADMw as calculated under ORS 327.013 for students who are enrolled in kindergarten through grade eight; and (b) Ninety-five percent of the amount of the school district's General Purpose Grant per ADMw as calculated under ORS 327.013 for students who are enrolled in grades 9 through 12." [ORS § 338.155(2-3)]

Facilities Funding

None