The charter movement emerged as an alternative to existing educational delivery system. Legislative policies impacts the outcome for charter schools. In California, the existing legislation creates a tension between the approving school district and applying charter school. . Beyond the funding implications, facilities impact is also a major source of tension in California. Finally, the legislative laws regarding charter school boards and their applicability of transparency laws are emerging.

With the election of President Barack Obama, the ability to determine between public and private education will become blurred.

In 2003, the Legislative Analyst Office issued a report of a RAND study examining the first ten years of charter schools.

In 2012, the Legislative Analyst Office issued a report comparing the funding levels for charter schools in California.

In 2014, a national study on charter school quality was issued. A second study was released evaluating charter oversight.

Closing charter schools can be difficult. In Oakland, the school district attempted to close a high performing charter organization for fiscal mismanagement and bad governance practices. The organization has appealed their closure decision to State Board of Education. In the meantime, the organization filed a lawsuit to have their funds released for the 2013/14 school year. The organization was granted a stay. The school district is appealing the court's ruling. CSBA filed this amicus brief in support of the school district.