In 1988, the late Albert Shanker, then president of the AFT, introduced the notion of charter schools to the American public in a Press Cub speech in Washington, DC. Charter schools have received support across the political spectrum. Conservatives supported charter schools for a variety of reasons; they believed that:

• charters would hasten the advent of vouchers

• a charter school policy could undermine the teachers’ unions

• charter schools could advance conservative support for deregulation and

allow the market to reign.

Many Democrats and liberals supported charters because they thought that:

• charters would stave off vouchers

• charter schools would lead to democratic renewal at the local level and help

strengthen the community

• charter schools allowed for greater teacher empowerment.

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