“The logic in this case, if extended, could be applied to [religious] charter schools, and many of us see that as the next domino to fall,” says Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership, law, and urban education at the University of Connecticut.

Are charter schools like polluting industries? That’s a provocative analogy, but two University of Connecticut researchers explore it in a recent paper. They contend that, while some charter schools may help students, the sector needs stronger regulation to prevent harm to students and school districts. “I would argue that, even if there are benefits, that does not give you carte blanche to not regulate or mitigate the harms that occur,” Preston C. Green III, the paper’s lead author, told me.

“The big concerns with charters are the lack of oversight and the draining of funds from public schools,” said Preston Green, the John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. “Charter schools can be detrimental to the larger public school system even if they benefit, in relative terms, a small number of children.”