The fight over charter schools in some of America’s rural states

Nebraska, South Dakota, and Vermont have resisted charter schools due to the negative impact such institutions can have on rural school districts — but that’s reportedly changing due to a shift in political leadership.

“These are states that love their rural public schools, that depend upon their rural public schools,” Carol Burris told Education Week.

Burris is the executive director of the Network for Public Education, an advocacy group focused on supporting and improving traditional public schools. 

“These are not states that are going to be welcoming charter schools,” Burris added. 

Burris said that rural states typically resist charter schools. Most states restrict parents to schools within their zip code or the school district that presides over their residential area, but charter schools allow parents the option to send their kids to a different school.

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When charter schools are located near public schools, they compete for per-pupil funding as parents are allowed to opt out of sending their children to the neighborhood public school. 

Concerns include that the money taken away from traditional public schools could be used to boost teachers’ salaries, invest in public school facilities and recruit more teachers.

North Dakota was previously among the states blocking charter school efforts but eventually embraced them.

Education Week also spoke with North Dakota’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kirsten Baesler, who was recently nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Department of Education. Baesler still has to be confirmed by Congress.

Baesler said the “desire for more school choice among legislators and voters changed things,” which “prompted the legislature to pass the new law allowing charters” in North Dakota.

“This new position—approved by the state’s super-majority Republican legislature—also aligns more closely with the Trump administration’s policies on K-12 education,” Education Week reported.

According to American Federation for Children President Tommy Schultz, Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will have a huge impact on education in the country. It is considered “the biggest piece of legislation that’s ever passed in school choice history” by establishing a federal tax-credit scholarship program. 

Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon previously signaled concern about children being trapped in failing schools.

“You’re not going to have a lot of charter schools in North Dakota. It’s rural, and it’s small,” Burris said. She added that residents “value local control and fiscal prudence, which has contributed to a cautious approach toward new state-funded educational models.”

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The report from Education Week came after several red states with GOP resistance to charter schools eventually flipped on the issue.

Iowa, Idaho, Tennessee, Wyoming and Texas eventually passed universal school choice, overcoming pushback from state-level Republican lawmakers who had previously obstructed the effort.

The states have many constituents who live in rural areas. Rural schools tend to face funding challenges due to low enrollment and scarce resources. Rural Republicans, once obstacles to school choice measures, have shifted to supporting the policy in those states. 

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds overcame resistance from her GOP colleagues when she sought to pass universal school choice legislation. Reynolds endorsed nine candidates with a pro-parent platform in primary elections, ousting incumbent GOP candidates who did not support that platform. 

A similar phenomenon occurred in Texas and Tennessee.

Several states with GOP trifectas passed universal school choice legislation.

Montana is another state that embraced charter schools after electing a Republican governor, Education Week reported. The state’s superintendent of public instruction said the fate of charter schools depends on the state’s political leadership.

“It depends on the legislature. Charter schools have become a cause of the Republican Party,” Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen told Education Week. 

“When Montana had a governor who was a Democrat, the state rejected charter schools,” she said.

School choice policies typically face hurdles in blue states and where teachers’ unions have significant influence. Left-leaning teachers’ unions usually reject school choice measures, claiming they debilitate public school funding and resources. 

No Democratic-controlled state has passed school choice legislation.

“Burris expressed doubts that Nebraska or Vermont will implement any kind of charter authorization laws, because Nebraska has strong support for its public schools and Vermont’s legislature is controlled by Democrats,” reported Education Week.