schools were charter schools. Charter schools affiliated with charter management organizations such as KIPP tended to perform better than stand-alone schools. The overall percentage of schools performing below the failing mark of 60 fell from 64% in 2005 to 36% in 2009. A 2015 study contends that although charter schools may seem to be improving the system overall, these metrics do not take into account race, as many of the underperforming charters primarily educate African-American students. It offers significant concern that current metrics for evaluation are ignoring significant portions of the population and that the media is not taking this into account when considering the impact of charter schools on New Orleans. Policy and practice As more states start charter schools, there is increasing speculation about upcoming legislation. In an innovation-diffusion study surveying education policy experts in fifty states, Michael Mintrom and Sandra Vergari (1997) found that charter legislation is more likely to be considered in states with poor test scores, Republican legislative control, and proximity to other states with high quality charter schools. Legislative enthusiasm, gubernatorial support, interactions with national authorities, and use of permissive charter-law models increase the chances for adopting what they consider stronger laws. He feels union support and restrictive models lead to adoption of what he considers weaker laws. Other barriers to charter expansion include restrictions on the number of charters permissible in a state, lack of state and local funding for facilities and transportation, and a political and philanthropic focus on expanding charters in urban areas rather than in suburban or rural areas. The threat of vouchers, wavering support for public education, and bipartisan support for charters has led some unions to start charters themselves. Several AFT chapters, such as those in Houston and Dallas, have themselves started charters. In New York City, the United Federation of Teachers operates a charter school serving grades 9–12 in Brooklyn, NY. The National Education Association has allocated $1.5 million to help members start charter schools. Proponents claim that charters offer teachers a measure of empowerment, employee ownership, and governance that might be enhanced by union assistance (Nathan). Former President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act also promotes charter schools. Over two dozen private management companies are attempting to increase their 10 percent share of a "more hospitable and entrepreneurial market" (Stecklow 1997). In the late 1990s Boston-based Advantage Schools Inc., a corporation specializing in for-profit