The North Carolina Charter School Cap: How removing the cap on the number of charter schools to allowed to operate in North Carolina impacted the charter sector

This thesis explores the impact of removing the 100 charter school cap in 2011 on the North Carolina charter school sector using interrupted time series methodology. It examines many applications to open charter schools along several dimensions including charter management organization affiliation, specialization, and conversion status. Specialization serves as a measurable form of innovation. Charter schools following 2011 were more specialized than those that applied to open before 2011. This thesis also finds that CMOs may monitor policy changes in a state and respond to charter friendly policy changes by targeting that state. It concludes by considering many possibilities for future research that this thesis serves as a baseline for.Bachelor of Art