Charter schools in Hawaii

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

Charter schools in Hawaii are public schools operated independently of public school systems, either by nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Although they are largely publicly funded, charter schools are exempt from many of the requirements imposed by state and local boards of education regarding hiring and curriculum. As public schools, charter schools cannot charge tuition or impose special entrance requirements; students are usually admitted through a lottery process if demand exceeds the number of spaces available in a school. Charter schools generally receive a percentage of the per-pupil funds from the state and local school districts for operational costs based on enrollment. In most states, charter schools do not receive funds for facilities or start-up costs; therefore, they must rely to some extent on private donations. The federal government also provides revenues through special grants. As of March 2017, 44 states and the District of Columbia had approved legislation authorizing the creation of public charter schools. Six states had not.

HIGHLIGHTS

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 34 total charter schools in Hawaii in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 11,000 students.

Overall, charter school students accounted for 5.87 percent of total public school enrollment in Hawaii in 2015.

The Hawaii State Legislature approved the state's charter school law in 1994.

Background

History

The Hawaii State Legislature approved Hawaii's charter school law in 1994.

In 1991 Minnesota became the first state to pass a charter school law.

The National Conference of State Legislatures defines charter schools as follows:

“	Charter schools are publicly funded, privately managed and semi-autonomous schools of choice. They do not charge tuition. They must hold to the same academic accountability measures as traditional schools. They receive public funding similarly to traditional schools. However, they have more freedom over their budgets, staffing, curricula and other operations. In exchange for this freedom, they must deliver academic results and there must be enough community demand for them to remain open.	”
—National Conference of State Legislatures

Across the nation, charter schools have grown in number since the passage of the first public charter school law. As of March 2017, 44 states plus the District of Columbia had enacted charter school laws, and in 2013 it was estimated that 4.6 percent of all public school students attended charter schools. Performance results of charter schools nationally have been mixed, with some performing demonstrably better and others closing because they could not meet required standards.

The Hawaii State Legislature passed the state's charter school law in 1994. As originally passed, the law authorized up to 25 existing schools to become "student-centered" schools. The state's first such school opened in 1995. In 1998, the state legislature amended the charter school law to require "the Department of Education through its board and superintendent to provide information and technical assistance necessary to support the establishment and expansion of student-centered schools." The next year, the legislature once again amended the charter school law to allow new start-up charter schools and to re-designate "student-centered" schools as "New Century" schools.

In 2012, the state legislature passed significant reforms to the state's charter school law. The law's purpose was "to create a solid governance structure for the charter school system with clear lines of authority and accountability to foster improved student outcomes." Notably, the new law eliminated the cap on the number of charter schools.

Participation

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 34 total charter schools in Hawaii in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 11,000 students. Overall, charter school students accounted for 5.87 percent of total public school enrollment in Hawaii in 2015.

Charter schools, 2015-2016
State	Total number of charter schools	Estimated enrollment	Percentage of total public school enrollment
Hawaii	34	11,000	5.87%
California	1,234	581,100	9.18%
Oregon	127	31,500	5.36%
Washington	0	0	0.00%
United States total	6,824	2,930,600	5.85%
Note: The percentages in the column labeled "Percentage of total public school enrollment" were calculated by taking the estimated number of charter school students in a given state and dividing by the total estimated number of public school students in that state in 2015. Total public school enrollment estimates came from the National Center for Education Statistics. Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, "A Closer Look at the Charter School Movement," February 3, 2016

Demographics

See also: Charter school demographics and Demographic information for all students in the United States

The table below presents information about the race/ethnicity of charter school students in Hawaii in the 2013-2014 school year, as reported by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. To facilitate comparison, the same figures are also provided for all public school students.

Enrollments by ethnicity, 2013-2014 (as percentages)
Data sample	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	Other
Charter schools in Hawaii	28.0%	1.0%	8.0%	12.0%	51.0%
Public schools in Hawaii	13.6%	2.1%	10.0%	32.0%	42.3%
Charter schools in the U.S.	34.9%	27.1%	30.0%	4.1%	3.8%
Public schools in the U.S.	50.3%	15.6%	24.8%	4.8%	4.4%
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 203.70. Percentage distribution of enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity and state or jurisdiction: Fall 2003 and fall 2013," accessed June 7, 2016 National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, "The Health of the Charter Public School Movement: A State-by-State Analysis," March 2016

State law

Authorizers

Charter school authorizers are, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), the organizations "designated to approve, monitor, renew, and, if necessary, close charter schools." NASCA has identified six primary types of charter school authorizers:

1. Higher education institutions (HEI)
2. Independent charter boards (ICB)
3. Local education agencies (LEA)
4. Non-education government entities (NEG)
5. Not-for-profit organizations (NFP)
6. State education agencies

The table below lists charter school authorizers in Hawaii as of June 2016. Click [show] to expand the table's contents.

Charter school authorizers in Hawaii, June 2016
Authorizer	Authorizer type
Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission	ICB
Source: National Association of Charter School Authorizers, "Hawaii Authorizers," accessed June 15, 2016

Enrollment regulations

Charter schools are public schools, and as such must maintain open enrollment policies and may not charge tuition. Conversion schools are required to enroll students "in the school's former geographic service area and in the grades previously served by the school." By contrast, start-up charter schools are open to any state residents. Start-up charter schools are permitted to give admissions preference to previous students and "may organize enrollment around a certain age group or special emphasis." In the event that there are more student applicants than there are available spaces, the school may hold a lottery to determine admissions.

Funding

In Hawaii, charter schools receive a portion of their funding from the state.

Funding for charter schools differs from state to state, and even between districts within states. In Hawaii, charter schools receive funding allocations from the state. According to the Education Commission of the States, charter school funding is determined as follows:

“	Charter funding is determined annually, with a per pupil amount for each regular education and special education student. This amount must be equivalent to the total per pupil cost based upon average enrollment in all cost categories, including comprehensive school support services but excluding special education services, for all means of financing except federal funds, as reported in the most recently published department of education consolidated annual financial report. A charter school governing board may choose to use the department's funding procedure or the board may choose an alternative weighted student formula.	”
—Education Commission of the States

The state department of education is required by law to make vacant school facilities or portions thereof available to charter schools. Beginning in fiscal year 2014-2015, the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission "may request charter school facilities funding from the legislature."

Accountability

See also: Accountability measures for charter schools

Hawaii charter schools are required to prepare and submit annual program and financial audits. In addition, charter schools must conduct annual self-evaluations. In addition, the charter school authorizer "must prepare a performance framework for the charter schools they oversee and then provide the state board and legislature annual performance reports on each charter school they oversee, including the schools' compliance with performance targets."

Charter schools may be closed for the following reasons: "substantial violations of law or contract provisions, failure to meet state performance standards, or fiscal irresponsibility."

Charter school law rankings

In January 2016, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released a report ranking all of the nation's charter school laws. Hawaii's law ranked 26 out of 43. The organization ranked each state's law by considering what it called "20 essential components of a strong charter school law." The table below compares Hawaii's score with that of neighboring states. To access the full report, including methodology, click here.

Charter school law rankings, January 2016
State	2016 ranking	2015 ranking	Ranking difference	2016 score	2015 score	Score difference
Hawaii	26	24	-2	136	136	0
California	15	11	-4	152	152	0
Oregon	28	26	-2	133	133	0
Washington	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, "Measuring Up To The Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws," January 2016

Issues

Debate

Proponents of charter schools such as the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools argue that, due to their freedom from some state oversight and regulation, they can adopt more innovative educational approaches. This allows them to cater to their particular higher-risk school age populations, which are generally composed of more minority and poor students. In addition, advocates argue that charter schools empower parents and improve traditional public schools through competition.

Meanwhile, critics such as Diane Ravitch argue that charter schools have not been proven to produce significantly higher levels of academic achievement as promised. It is difficult to find data comparable to traditional public schools. Critics also contend that charter schools divert funds from traditional public schools, which continue to enroll significant majorities of public school students, thereby compounding problems at failing schools and generating unequal outcomes for students.

Funding inequity

In 2014, the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform released a report identifying disparities between charter school funding and traditional public school funding. Examining 31 states, the researchers considered all sources of charter school funding, including public funds, grants, and philanthropic donations. Researchers found that charter schools received on average 28.4 percent less than traditional public schools. Tennessee's funding disparity was lowest at 0.1 percent, while Louisiana's was highest at 58.4 percent. The disparity in Hawaii was -25.4 percent, earning the state an F grade. Charter schools in the state received on average $3,599 less per pupil than traditional public schools.

Below is a chart that compares Hawaii's grade and funding disparity with those of surrounding states. To access the full report, click here.

Charter school funding disparity by state
State	Grade	District per-pupil revenue	Charter per-pupil revenue	Disparity in dollars	Disparity in percents
Hawaii	F	$14,161	$10,562	-$3,599	-25.4%
California	F	$11,777	$8,324	-$3,453	-29.3%
Oregon	F	$10,968	$6,127	-$4,841	-44.1%
Washington	Was not studied
Source: University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform, "Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands," accessed October 22, 2014

Charter school management organizations and other groups

See also: Charter school management organization

In the 2010-2011 school year, 30 schools in Hawaii were freestanding, none operated under charter management organizations, and only one operated under education management organizations.

The Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network is the state's charter school advocacy organization. Its stated purpose is as follows:

“	Through lokahi for our children and community, the purpose of HPCSN shall be to enable, support, and unify charter schools and the charter school sector in the State of Hawaii. The activities of The Network shall include linking charter schools in the State of Hawaii to each other and to the charter efforts in other states, providing information and services to schools and individuals interested in establishing or improving the performance of charter schools in Hawaii, promoting and conducting research on educational reform, serving as a “vendor” for services needed by charter schools, and promoting partnerships with businesses and organizations for both the Network and its member schools.	”
—Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network

Innovation

See also: Charter school innovation indicators and High-performing charter schools

Charter school proponents argue that charter schools have the freedom to adopt more innovative practices, which in turn lead to improved academic performance. To get a sense of the level of innovation occurring in charter schools, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools surveyed charter schools across the country on the various innovative education practices they employed. In Hawaii, an average of 13 percent of charter schools reported using innovative practices in the 2011-2012 school year. The table below displays the prevalence of a variety of innovative practices in Hawaii as a percentage of all charter schools in the state. The figures are compared with those in surrounding states.

Charter schools with innovative practices, in percents (2011-2012)
State	Extended day	Extended year	Year-round calendar	Independent study	School-to-work	Higher education courses	Average
Hawaii	27%	13%	7%	13%	0%	20%	13%
California	49%	24%	6%	33%	7%	22%	23%
Oregon	26%	8%	2%	34%	12%	32%	19%
Washington	No data available
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, "The Health of the Public Charter School Movement: A State-By-State Analysis," accessed October 3, 2014

Ballot measures and legislation

Ballot measures

See also: School choice on the ballot and List of Hawaii ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked no statewide ballot measures relating to school choice in Hawaii.

Legislation

The following is a list of recent charter school bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Hawaii state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Hawaii charter school. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Charter schools in Hawaii - Google News

See also

• Charter schools
• Charter school statistics for all 50 states
• School choice
• Public education in Hawaii
• School choice in Hawaii
• Hawaii Department of Education
• Charter school management organization

External links

• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
• National Association of Charter School Authorizers