How are charter schools created, organized, and operated?
Charter schools are created when an individual, a group of parents or teachers, a business, a municipality, or a legal entity submits an application to the school district; the school district approves the application; the applicants form a governing board that negotiates a contract with the district school board; and the applicants and district school board agree upon a charter or contract. The district school board then becomes the sponsor of the charter school. A state university may grant a charter to the university lab school and is considered to be the schools sponsor. The negotiated contract outlines expectations of both parties regarding the schools academic and financial performance. A charter school is organized and privately operated by teachers, parents, community leaders, businesses, or legal entities (which may include a for-profit management company). The charter school may serve at-risk students, or offer a specialized curriculum or core academic program, provide early
