Editorial: Special education students succeed in charter schools

Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Feb 12, 2026

Published in Op Eds

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Imagine you run a business. Sales of your primary line are foundering because you’re not producing quality products. You’ve spent handsomely to improve it, but troubles persist. Many customers are deeply unsatisfied.

But a small division within your company has come up with a superior product. Customers begin to flock to that creation at the expense of your main offerings. They’re much happier with the new item. What do you do next?

It depends on who you are. If you’re running the company, you’re thrilled. You shift company resources to the new innovation, especially as it proves itself over time. Doing so will make your company more successful.

But now imagine that you run the main division. Shifting resources to the new product means a decrease in your power, prestige and pay. Your budget will shrink, along with the workforce you manage. Doing so may be better for the company, but it isn’t better for you.

This is why market competition is so important. It pushes companies — and the people within those companies — to innovate and shift resources to the products and services the public wants. Individuals may want to protect the projects that personally benefit them, but if they don’t respond to the public, their company can go bankrupt.

But the public education establishment has long been shielded from competition. For decades, most families have had to attend their zoned public school even when it performed terribly. This arrangement didn’t hurt those running the public schools — they actually benefited from it. They used poor performance as a reason to agitate for more taxpayer money.

What a dramatic difference from how businesses operate.

But over the past 20 years, public pressure and the relentless work of education reformers have given parents more options. One of them is charter schools, which are public schools run by different groups. While not every charter school has succeeded, many charter schools have produced dramatic improvement in academic performance.

A new study from the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice provides more evidence of their success. It looked at how Michigan students with disabilities performed after moving to charter schools.

“Academic performance and attendance improved similarly for both students with and without disabilities after enrolling in charter schools,” it found.

This may not make those running the public education establishment happy, but it’s great news for parents. Nevada already has many charter schools.

Investing in what works is an obvious strategy for any business. Nevada elected officials need to bring that mindset to education and help charters expand further. Do what’s best for kids, not the adults running traditional public schools.

_____