New rules for charter schools in North Dakota take effect April 1.
The 2025 Legislature authorized charter schools. North Dakota is the 47th state to authorize them — but with a difference.
"These are public charter schools," said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Levi Bachmeier. "The rules governing our neighborhood public schools and our charter schools are almost identical. It's important to underscore these are not private schools. They are public."
Bachmeier said the charter schools are not bound by geography.
"They're going to be more often focused on a specific mission or theme or area of focus," Bachmeier said. He also believes this will lead to a healthy competition, as long as it's fair.
"If one team gets to dribble with one hand, and the other team gets to dribble with two, that's not fair competition," Bachmeier said. "I think the way our charter legislation has been set up, it will help provide choice, and do so in a way that is fair.
Bachmeier said he hopes the public school districts can look and see and learn from the practices the charters will bring, once they get off the ground. He said he hasn’t heard a lot of interest in charter schools so far, but he said one person has approached him about starting a school, and he thinks interest will grow.
