Mass. Gets 22 Charter School Proposals

Twenty-two groups have expressed interest in opening new charter schools in Massachusetts — three times the number that applied last year.

As the Associated Press reports:

The jump follows a decision earlier this spring to lift a moratorium on new applications for several cities, including Boston and Lawrence, which still have a cap on the maximum number of charter school seats.

Five of this year's 22 proposals are for Boston. (You can see the full list of proposals here.)

The AP adds:

Groups whose proposals show the most promise will be notified by mid-September and invited to submit a full application.

"We review them in terms of the background of the applicant group, their experience in running schools, in terms of the quality of the proposal that they've given us," Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester told our Newscast unit.

A final decision on which charter schools will be allowed to open will be made in February.