Charter schools are public schools that are operated as non-profit organizations, not as traditional district-operated schools. Like traditional public schools, however, they are funded with public money, operate tuition-free, and must admit all interested students until they reach capacity. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools may be started by teachers, parents, or citizens with public approval.
Charters also operate with a fair degree of autonomy (which varies by state), and are not subject to many of the regulations and restrictions of traditional public schools. They must, however, follow all safety and civil rights laws and must participate in state testing and accountability systems. They are schools of choice—parents opt for their children to attend charter schools, and teachers choose to teach in them. Nobody is automatically assigned to them.
A charter school is “chartered” or overseen, by an entity called a sponsor or authorizer, which, depending on the state, can be a local or state school board; a public university; a municipality; an independent authorizing board; or a non-profit organization. The authorizer ensures that the school fulfills its educational mission and complies with state and local laws. If a charter school fails to do so, it may be put on a probationary status or even closed. In this way—and because their revenues depend on attendance which in turn depends on voluntary choices by families— charter schools face more accountability than traditional public schools.
Charters may hire their own teachers, who are typically not members of the teachers union; choose their own curricula; manage their own budgets; and establish their own culture.
Fordham’s view
The combination of parental choice, autonomy, and accountability combine to give charter schools a distinct advantage in raising student achievement, and competition from charter schools also helps to put helpful pressure on traditional public schools, which has been found to raise their student outcomes as well. Charters perform this important work while typically underfunded because they lack access to the local funds available to traditional public schools. Charters are, however, eligible for some federal funding.
Learn more
- The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
- “Why urban charters outperform traditional public schools”
- For Profit Charter Schools: An evaluation of their spending and outcomes
- “What’s Next for New York Charter Schools?”
- Biden administration’s new rules hurt charter schools
- KIPP public charter school network
- IDEA public charter school network