Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study explores the constitutionality of religion-based charter schools. The method of analysis used hypothetical charter schools to answer legal questions. The answers are grounded in law using the latest precedent. The background material before examining charters sets forth both the legal and policy contexts of religious charters schools. The legal context includes a detailed analysis of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution focusing on the most recent Supreme Court cases on that topic. The policy analysis examines the normative and structural dimensions of charter schools, which are then compared with voucher programs. The historical, political and educational contexts of charter programs are also examined. Three hypothetical situations examine a total of eighteen legal questions: Can coreligionists form a charter school? Can morality-based general propositions of good be taught in a charter school? Can a charter school teach values espoused by coreligionists? Can a charter school teach a course in the relationship between religion and morality? Can a charter school have religious criteria for staff? Can a charter school limit a teacher's right to express different worldviews? Can a charter school offer optional prayer? Can a charter school form for the purpose of allowing students' ease of access to religious education? Can a charter school form to provide students, who would otherwise attend parochial schools, with a free, secular public education? Can clergy sit on the board of a charter school? Can a charter school share facilities with a parochial school? Can a religious organization operate a charter school? Can a charter school have religious criteria for admission? To what extent can a religion class be taught in a charter school? Can a charter school require religious instruction? Can a charter school require religious exercises or worship? Can a charter school affiliate with a denomination? Can states exclude religious organizations from operating charter schools? Each question is analyzed from a legal perspective. The study concludes that charter statutes present an opportunity for parents and communities to form charter schools that will accommodate their beliefs; however, the constitution does not allow them to form schools that endorse their beliefs. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Wyoming, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 21, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-112).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2006. / Abstract. "May, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-83). Also available online in PDF format.

As charter schools continue to proliferate across United States, their impact on the public education system is becoming an increasingly important public policy question. Charter school proponents argue that combined pressures of consumer choice and market competition will induce traditional public schools to respond by providing higher quality education and promoting innovation and equity. Skeptics worry that charter schools pose risks of segregating students by race and economic level, and reducing per-pupil resources available to traditional public schools. This dissertation provides a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of charter schools on regular public schools by addressing the following questions: 1) How do the charter schools affect the racial, ethnic and cosio-economic distribution, student-teacher ratios and achievement of traditional public schools? 2) How do the size and scope of competitive effects vary according to different measures of competition? Using two-period panel data from the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core Data (CCD) for traditional public schools in Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Ohio, I compare changes in racial and ethnic distribution, student-teacher ratios and achievement in public schools that do and do not face competition. I use a variation of the difference-in-differences (DD) estimation strategy to study the effect of charter schools on the outcome measures. The findings from the study suggest that introduction of charter schools in the educational landscape has affected student distributions, and at least in some cases, student-teacher ratios and the performance of traditional public schools. Charter schools seem to contribute to declines in the share of non-Hispanic white students in traditional public schools in all four states. The results show variation in other outcome areas across states and competition measures. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring what will happen to non-choosers in traditional schools as well as the role of considering state context and empirical measures while generalizing from charter school studies.

This dissertation examines the effects of charter schools in Texas, using data from the Texas Education Agency for 190 charter schools and over 60,000 charter students. In Chapter II we examine charter effect test score gains for charter students. After controlling for individual student characteristics, we find that students in their first year in a charter school have large negative test score gains compared to when they were in traditional public school, and that charter schools that have been in operation for more than one year have higher average test score gains than new charter schools. Charter schools appear to have the most positive effects on African-American students. We find that the overall effect of being in a charter school for multiple years is that students have slightly lower average test score growth than when they were in a traditional public school. In Chapter III we examine the effect of charters on test score gains for students attending nearby traditional public schools. After controlling for campus and student characteristics, we find traditional public school districts and campuses that face greater competition from charter schools have higher average test score gains than other traditional public schools. This positive effect of charter competition is strongest for African-American and Hispanic students, and is focused entirely on students attending traditional public campuses in the bottom 50% of the initial campus average achievement distribution. In Chapter IV we examine the charter effect on the distribution of students by ability and race/ethnicity, as well as examining what factors are associated with a student choosing to move to a charter school. We find that students who move to charter schools tend to move to schools with a higher percentage of students of their same race/ethnicity, and that this gap is largest for African-American students. We also find that average math and reading test scores are lower than the statewide average at the traditional public schools that charter students leave, and that charter schools are attracting, on average, the lower-performing students from these lowperforming schools.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 354-367).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 2004. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-201).

Drawing on interview data from charter school policy actors in New York State, this study applied Kingdon’s (1984, 1995/2002) multiple streams model to explain how the system of multiple statewide charter authorizers was created as part of the New York State Charter Schools Act of 1998. A combination of factors influenced the emergence of the law and resulted in an authorizing system that included an effective set of policy entrepreneurs, a strong executive, and a key political opportunity. Ultimately Governor Pataki promoted charter school policy to high agenda prominence by deciding to use the issue as his desired policy in exchange for a legislative pay raise (agenda setting). The findings of the study suggest that the applicability of Kingdon’s national-level model to the state level is valid and features a strong participation of the state executive branch. / text

The purpose of this research study was to capture, document and examine parents’ perceptions regarding their descriptions of the statements, “best education possible” and “school choice” in regards to the traditional and the nontraditional models for public schooling. Additionally, for this research study, traditional public schools are defined as the regular public school that serves grades P-12 with no restrictions for parents’ choice in enrollment of their child/children. Nontraditional public schools are defined as any school, public and/or private, that functions outside the boundaries of the traditional public school systems’ supervision. This body of work reflects the perspectives of 30 parents who provided their perceptions toward their personal experiences as they negotiated specific outcomes for their child’s/children’s educational achievements. By providing substantive information in the form of a satisfaction survey and personal interviews, their voices are now captured within a body of work that gives meaning to their experiences as they have described them in this research study. Through the research process, this researcher brought forward a wealth of qualitative data that were supported by a limited level of quantitative data. The findings revealed that an overwhelming majority of the parents who were surveyed where satisfied with their educational outcomes. The parents who participated in this research study provided the answers for why, and/or how these perceptions were formed, materialized, achieved, and/or sustained. As a result of the findings from this research study, a grounded theory was formed. The grounded theory reads as follows: Parents who have a minimum of a high school diploma, and/or greater and who are single and/or married with an income no less than $31,000 can achieve a satisfactory outcome as well as the best education possible for their child/children in the traditional and/or nontraditional model of schooling, where he/she is actively engaged in his/her child/children educational matriculation. Because this study was overwhelmingly represented by African-American adults, a similar study should be conducted with primarily European-American adults, and/or other racial groups that may include Asian-Americans and/or Latino-American adults. Race was cited as a factor within the review of related literature with regards to educational outcomes as well as the disparaging gap for educational advancement found among the racial groups. As a result, given all other factors are the same, the grounded theory produced from this research study could be further validated across racial lines.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Electronic text (142 p. : ill.) : digital, PDF file. Christine H. Roch, committee chair; Gary T. Henry, Gordon A. Kingsley, Gregory B. Lewis, Mary Beth Walker, committee members. Description based on contents viewed May 8, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-142).