Parental Choice Options
Charter Schools

Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The �charter� establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years.

A charter school is accountable to its sponsor - usually a state or local school board - or in some cases municipal government or a college or university to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. At the end of the contract term, the sponsor may renew the school's contract.

Generally, states apply fewer regulations to charter schools and demand a higher level of accountability for results. If charter schools fail to produce the results outlined in their contract with the state or other authorizer, the school can be closed. Moreover, as schools of choice (i.e., parents voluntarily enroll their children there), charter schools are held accountable to the public because if they cannot attract students, the schools cannot survive.

The first charter school law was passed in Minnesota in 1990. Growth since then has been substantial. As of January 2004 there are 2,996 charter schools operating in 41 states and serving nearly 685,000 students. Among the more active chartering states are Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin. Those states combined house more than 1,940 of the nation�s charter schools.

On March 10, 2004 the state of Washington became the latest state to pass charter school legislation.

Charter schools are subject to the same safety, health, civil-rights, academic-testing standards, and financial audits as other public schools. In addition, because they are public schools funded by public money, enrollment is open to all students. Specific provisions of each state's legislation define what a charter school is, how it is organized, and how it will operate.

Charter school laws lie on a continuum from strong to weak. States with weak laws typically have only one sponsor, usually the local school board. Other features of weak laws include reduced freedom from state statutes, financial constraints, and caps on the number of charter schools. Strong laws, on the other hand, usually provide for fair and equitable funding, more than one authorizer, and an appeals process for applicants who are denied by their school board. In these laws, waivers from state statutes are sweeping, allowing schools to determine such things as curriculum, use of time, and staffing.

Individual charter schools are founded to fulfill specific educational goals, particularly:

  1. To realize a particular vision about a good school (e.g., collaborative learning, community involvement)
  2. To better serve a particular population (e.g., low-income students) or
  3. To restructure existing schools to achieve performance (e.g. academically struggling schools, schools wanting autonomy)

Policy makers hope charter schools will:

  1. Provide options for families and teachers
  2. Encourage innovation in teaching practices and teacher professional development
  3. Provide a strong system of accountability to both the sponsors and to the public
  4. Create authentic site-based management in public schools
  5. Encourage community and parental involvement
  6. Enhance student achievement
  7. Create healthy competition within the public school system

    National statistics on charter schools provide the following picture:

  8. 16% of charter schools are high schools, 10% are middle schools, 25% are elementary schools, 16% are K-8, 10% are middle-high schools, 8% are K-12, 8% are primary, 5% are other and 2% are un-graded.
  9. The estimated percentage of students with limited English proficiency in charter schools is 10%, which is about the same as for all public schools in states with charter school laws.
  10. The percentage of students with disabilities at charter schools is about 8% versus 11% in traditional public schools.
  11. Charter schools serve a slightly higher percentage (39% versus 37%) of students eligible for free or reduced lunch than traditional public schools.
  12. 48% of charter school enrollment consists of white students, as compared to 59% in traditional public schools.
  13. In addition, charter schools are more likely than traditional public schools to serve African-American (24% versus 17%) and Hispanic students (21% versus 18%).