CHARLOTTESVILLE Since the Virginia General Assembly authorized public charter schools in 1998, eight such institutions have opened in the commonwealth.

Five of the eight schools have subsequently closed, for a combination of financial and academic reasons. Three charter schools are currently operating -- in Albemarle County, York County, and Hampton -- and a fourth, also located in Albemarle County, is scheduled to open this August.

In light of the small numbers, one could be excused for forgetting that charter schooling in Virginia received considerable attention in the mid-1990s from legislators, the press, and a variety of interest groups focused on public education. Govs. George Allen (1994-1998) and Jim Gilmore (1998-2002) were outspoken advocates of charter schools. Gov. Mark Warner (2002-2006) voiced considerable support as well, albeit with more qualifications than his predecessors.

Why then, given their initial momentum and influential supporters, are there so few charter schools in Virginia?

Policymakers and some charter advocates argue that Virginia's charter school law -- unlike laws in states such as North Carolina (102 charter schools), Ohio (315), and Arizona (482) -- impedes the opening of more charter schools. In particular, Virginia's law gives local public school officials the ability to decide whether or not to approve a proposed charter school. Because the local officials may view charter schools as competition for scarce resources with their traditional public school counterparts, those officials have a built-in incentive not to approve charter schools.

In the more "charter-friendly" states, such as North Carolina, other institutions -- including state boards of education and universities -- are empowered to evaluate requests to open charter schools. Those institutions may be less threatened by proposals for charter schools that will operate outside of the standard bureaucratic restraints.

An alternative explanation for Virginians' reticence to more fully embrace the charter school movement is the still inconclusive evidence regarding their relative success in educating students. Proponents argue that charter schools are more accountable to parents because the terms of the charter typically require termination (and therefore closing of the school) unless certain educational outcomes are achieved. Indeed, nationwide a significant number of charter schools have been closed, after an initial fiveor ten-year term, because they did not produce test results or other outcomes that had been promised under the charter agreement.

However, studies comparing the performance of students in charter schools with students in traditional schools have arrived at decidedly different conclusions. Not surprisingly, charter school supporters point to studies showing significant progress among charter school students, while opponents emphasize other studies that show little or no difference in the results produced in charter schools. Perhaps, then, Virginians are simply waiting for a more definitive answer regarding whether charter schools actually "work" before they engage in a wholesale restructuring of the public school system.

A third explanation for the small number of charter schools in Virginia is that the considerable attention focused on the Standards of Learning (SOLs) in the past decade has sapped energy and enthusiasm that might otherwise have been directed toward charter schooling.

As educators and policymakers have concentrated on fine-tuning the SOLs (or have called for wholesale changes to the SOL regime or for scrapping it altogether), they have had less time, money, and incentive to open charter schools as a mechanism for reforming public schools. Under this explanation, if and when a stronger consensus about the role and content of the SOLs eventually emerges, then the charter-school movement might again be energized and more of the schools opened.

Regardless of one's explanation, it is difficult to dispute that charter schools in Virginia have had less impact on the public school system than the authors of the 1998 legislation envisioned. Currently, a group of Richmond parents and teachers have proposed a charter school, to be located in the old Patrick Henry Elementary School, which would focus on environmental education and social responsibility. A recommendation regarding whether to authorize the school is expected later this spring. Meanwhile, Mayor Wilder periodically calls for a renewed focus on charter schools, and legislation enabling universities to authorize charter schools was proposed during the 2007 session of the General Assembly.

Whether the latest round of discussion about charter schools produces more concrete results than the original legislation remains to be seen.
Walker Richmond, an attorney, is a former teacher who has taught in both public and private schools. He may be contacted at wrichmond@richfish.com.