Charter schools are wonderful, if the state's laws are well written. I'm in Minnesota, and my kids went to charters for seven years, (six at a project-oriented

Charter schools are wonderful, if the state's laws are well written. I'm in Minnesota, and my kids went to charters for seven years, (six at a project-oriented school that targeted students with learning or social problems in mainstream schools). But it works here because the system is completely fair - any student can attend any school, and there are no good mechanisms for private charters, or for charters that exclude students by type. Many of the charters are actually sponsored by school districts - for example, Minneapolis has dedicated bilingual charters for the large Somali and Spanish-speaking populations. Then I see the consequences of bad law in other states, and I just cringe.