Addressing “Authorizer Hopping”
The phenomenon known as “authorizer hopping,” whereby underperforming charter schools slated for closure seek out a new authorizer in order to avoid facing accountability, is a serious potential problem that must be addressed when setting up legislation to expand charter school authorization. In addition to the MDOE actively encouraging a high degree of transparency, as well as frequent collaboration between authorizers, the legislation itself should codify practices that prevent “authorizer hopping,” such as limiting authorizer transfers, requiring that “chronically low-performing” schools be automatically slated for closure, holding the authorizers themselves to a high standard of practice, and minimizing to the greatest degree possible any potential incentives for authorizers to “approve or renew” unqualified charter schools.