Charter School Tax Credit: Investing in Human Capital

Posted by on January 30, 2011

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Center for Community Development Investments has published a new working paper:

Title:      Charter School Tax Credit: Investing in Human Capital
Author:   Ian Galloway, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

This working paper considers how two existing policy tools–investment tax credits and charter schools–could be combined to raise operating funds for charter schools that successfully close the poverty-related academic achievement gap.  Some charter schools have succeeded in dramatically improving low-income student performance (those run by KIPP, Achievement First, and the Harlem Children’s Zone, for example). However, these successful schools differ significantly in type and approach.  As a result, it is difficult to identify a single, or combination of variables in any one charter that, if replicated, would produce the same results across the public school system. This working paper acknowledges the difficulty of so-called “silver bullet” school reform replication and considers an alternative: cultivating a diverse array of education approaches using tools developed by the community development finance industry over the last 30 years.

To download, click here.
http://www.frbsf.org/publications/community/wpapers/2010/working_paper_2010_08_galloway.pdf

If you have questions or comments, or would like to request a hard copy of the paper, please contact Ian Galloway at ian.galloway@sf.frb.org.

The views and opinions presented in this paper are those of its author and may not reflect the views and opinions of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, or the Federal Reserve System.