Are Charter Schools Really a Threat?

For the second time in two years, West Virginia teachers went on strike. But unlike the first time—which set off a wave of teacher walkouts across the country—teachers weren't demanding more pay. They wanted to block lawmakers from legalizing charter schools and a type of school voucher program. 

Lawmakers gave in to the union's demands within a few hours. 

Teachers' unions in Oakland and Los Angeles have also recently made charter school growth a central issue in their strikes. 

But are the expansion of charter schools and school vouchers really an existential threat to traditional public schools? In most parts of America, it's hard to argue that they are.