The autho­ri­zors of char­ter schools are an under-stud­ied piece of the char­ter reform process. This study focus­es on what are arguably the most impor­tant deci­sions autho­ri­zors make: Which schools should be opened and which should be closed? The deci­sions of the RSD over the past decade are tak­en as a case study of the chal­lenges involved in iden­ti­fy­ing the schools that are most like­ly to be effec­tive. Whit­ney Ruble, Eco­nom­ics PhD stu­dent at Tulane Uni­ver­si­ty, exam­ines which aspects of the appli­ca­tions best pre­dict accep­tance by the RSD and which fac­tors best pre­dict clo­sure and length of school contract.