The National & Federal Policy Landscape: What NACSA Is Watching in 2026
January 29, 2026 | NACSA (National Association of Charter School Authorizers)
At NACSA, we focus not just on what’s happening in Washington and in your communities, but what it means for...
Commentary
Raising the Bar: NACSA’s Updated State Policy Recommendations
September 10, 2025
NACSA believes that strong laws enable strong authorizing. In turn, strong authorizing leads to strong public education outcomes for students, families, and communities. That’s why we regularly update our state policy recommendations …
NACSA believes that strong laws enable strong authorizing. In turn, strong authorizing leads to strong public education outcomes for students, families, and communities. That’s why we regularly update our state policy recommendations …
Commentary
A New Path Forward: NACSA’s Bold New School Application Guidance
August 13, 2025
I’ll never forget a foundational principle I learned nearly two decades ago, while authorizing in Indianapolis: It should be hard to gain approval to start a new charter school. But it needs …
I’ll never forget a foundational principle I learned nearly two decades ago, while authorizing in Indianapolis: It should be hard to gain approval to start a new charter school. But it needs …
Who We Are
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) is an independent voice for thoughtful charter authorizing practices and policies that lead to more great public schools.
What is Authorizing?
Authorizers are the entities that decide who can start a new charter school, set academic and operational expectations, oversee school performance, and decide if a school remains open.
Authorizing Principles & Standards
Resource guides that identify core authorizer responsibilities and describe how the principles are upheld within each responsibility. They are designed to help set high expectations.
NACSA'S Three-Year Plan
NACSA believes all children should attend high-quality schools. Our goal is by 2028 to see more than 1.5 million charter school students enrolled in exceptionally high-quality schools.
