Beyond the Headlines
The Florida Charter Institute created Beyond the Headlines as a space to share our team’s perspectives on the news shaping charter schools today. Through original op-eds and thought leadership pieces, we provide context, highlight key issues, spark dialogue, and offer insights to strengthen Florida’s charter school community.
Most Recent Article
How charter schools should approach innovation
Thomas B. Fordham Institute | January 8, 2026
This article challenges the charter sector’s growing emphasis on “innovation,” arguing that while charters should modernize how schools are organized and operated, they should avoid experimental approaches to teaching and learning. Responding to claims that charters have lost their innovative edge, the author contends that the most successful charter schools focus on proven practices—strong curricula, effective teacher development, and clear academic expectations—rather than untested pedagogical trends. Ultimately, the piece makes the case that specialization and fidelity to what works, not experimentation, are what best serve students, especially during a period of academic recovery.
Why Florida Charter Schools Are at Capacity While District seats Sit Empty
The 74 | January 7, 2026
As Florida’s charter schools continue to grow, access to affordable facilities remains a major challenge, forcing schools to spend significant resources on private space even as many district buildings sit underutilized. A report by the Florida Charter Institute and Momentum Strategy & Research finds that declining district enrollment has left hundreds of thousands of empty seats statewide, yet few charters operate in district-owned facilities due to weak laws and local resistance. Drawing on examples from other cities, the article argues that meaningful facility sharing requires not just state policy changes, but genuine local collaboration to treat public school buildings as shared community assets.
Archives
Making charter school colocation work in Florida | Opinion
Tallahassee Democrat | December 3, 2025
This article examines Florida’s newly enacted Schools of Hope law, which allows certain high-performing charter schools to locate in underused district facilities, and the intense backlash it has sparked across the state. While acknowledging the law’s flaws and the concerns raised by districts, the piece argues that charter–district colocation is a proven strategy for improving student outcomes and reducing wasteful facilities spending. Drawing on national examples and Florida-specific data, the author urges education leaders to move past political conflict and pursue locally driven, collaborative approaches that make better use of public school buildings and expand high-quality options for students.
Success Academy is coming to Florida — good news for families
Florida Politics | October 8, 2025
Success Academy’s expansion into Florida marks a major step for the state’s Schools of Hope program, bringing one of the nation’s top-performing charter networks to Miami by 2027. Despite criticism, Florida’s charter schools continue to improve outcomes for students, especially in disadvantaged communities. Success Academy’s rigorous, high-achieving model offers low-income families access to quality education comparable to private schools, strengthening school choice and expanding opportunity across the state. Read the full article on the original website.
Charter school regulation means keeping the destination in sight
thomas B. Fordham Institutute | August 22, 2025
Michael Petrilli recently made a sensible case for charter school regulation—not for its own sake, but because charter authorizers should concern themselves with how our public schools are being run. “Let’s embrace the potential for innovation,” he contends, “but not be Pollyanna about the potential for waste, fraud, abuse, bad ideas, poor execution, and all the rest that comes along with human imperfection.”
Commentary: Can charter schools keep up with the choice revolution?
Orlando Sentinel | July 21, 2025
Are charter schools losing their mojo? Earlier this month I attended the National Charter Schools Conference in Orlando, an annual convening of operators and stakeholders from across the charter world. It’s both an uncertain and exciting time for charter schools — internal turmoil and sweeping enthusiasm for school choice are asking questions of the now 30-year-old public charter movement.
Florida’s Charter Schools Face Uncertainty After SCOTUS Ruling
Florida Politics | May 27, 2025
Unlike private schools, charter schools are defined by their ‘publicness.’ A recent Supreme Court ruling prompts Florida lawmakers to consider the unique role charter schools play in the state.
Job engine charter schools can accelerate career pathways in Florida | Opinion
Tallahassee Democrat | April 9, 2025
A bill progressing through Florida’s House and Senate proposes an innovative school model that would meaningfully expand career pathways for young people in the state—should lawmakers put students first.
Commentary: Latest educational assessment is good for Florida charter schools
Orlando Sentinel | March 1, 2025
According to a recent educational-progress assessment test, in both reading and math, fourth and eighth-grade charter school students performed better than students in traditional district schools in Florida and better than the national average.
School choice has nothing to do with segregation | Opinion
Tallahssee Democrat | Feb 18, 2025
In a recent column, educator Sierra Bush Rester claims that school choice, whether in the form of private vouchers or public charter schools, is “rooted in segregationist policy.” Her own arguments, unfortunately, are rooted in falsehoods and completely mischaracterize school choice policies in Florida, past and present.