The Facts About Charter Schools

Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools in the United States that have been granted freedom from many of the rules, regulations, and statutes that usually apply to other traditional public schools. This freedom, however, comes in lieu of or some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each charter school's charter. The charter is in fact a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. Although the time period for which charters are granted varies, most are granted a minimum of three to five years. At the end of the term, the school's contract may be renewed depending on its performance. The basic concept of charter schools is that they get more autonomy as they are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them, and the public that funds them.

Most charter school legislation is aimed at boosting opportunities for learning and access to quality education for all students. They also try to create an alternative for parents and students within the public school system, provide a system of accountability for results in public education and encourage innovative teaching practices. In addition, their objectives are to create more professional opportunities for teachers; encourage community and parent involvement in public education; and leverage improved public education.

Charter schools are set up for a variety of reasons. Their founders can generally be divided into three groups: grassroots organizations of parents, teachers and community members; entrepreneurs; or existing schools converting to charter status. These schools are created mainly to realize an educational vision, obtain autonomy and serve a special population. Both parents and teachers prefer charter schools for their high academic standards, small class size, innovative approaches, or educational philosophies in line with their own.

Charter schools are required to have a fair and open admissions process, conducting outreach and recruitment to all segments of the community they serve. When more students apply than can be accommodated, they use a lottery system to randomly determine which students are accepted. Some have waiting lists too.

The authorizers of charter school vary from state to state. In California, they are the governing board of the school districts, county boards of education, or the state board. In Pennsylvania, the local school board of the district in which the school will be located is the appropriate authority. Generally the four types of such authorities are the local school board, state universities, community colleges, and the state board of education.

Throughout the United States, students in charter schools have similar demographic characteristics to students in all public schools.

Charters cannot charge tuition and they are funded according to enrollment. In Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, and New Jersey, for example, they receive less than 100% of the funds allocated to their traditional counterparts for the operation of public schools. In other states, additional funds or loans are made available to them while in most states, they do not get capital funds for facilities.

Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992, their number has now increased to over 3,000 schools serving more than 700,000 students. Since 2004, forty states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had passed charter school laws. Of these forty states, thirty-nine have charter schools as of now with Tennessee still waiting to have one.