What is a Charter School?
Charter schools provide parents a choice in the education of their children — and it is a public choice. Public tax dollars are the primary funding sources for charter schools. Local, state, and federal dollars follow the child to a charter school. The schools have open enrollment with no discrimination, no religious associations, and no tuition.
A charter school is a public school. It is financed through public local, State, and federal funds but is independent of local school boards. The authority of the charter school to provide education is through a “charter,” a type of contract, between the charter school board of trustees and one of the chartering entities that has been approved and issued by the Board of Regents. Charter schools typically focus on innovative curricula, a new approach to school organization, or some other features that differentiate them from regular public schools. Students may choose to attend any charter school and are accepted through an application procedure.
A charter school is a public school that operates according to the terms of a charter, or contract, that has been approved by a local board of education and the State Board of Education. The charter school may request waivers from provisions of Title 20 of Georgia state law and any state or local rule, regulation, policy, or procedure relating to schools in the school district. In exchange for this flexibility, the charter school is bound by contract to be held accountable for meeting the performance-based objectives specified in the charter.
Charter schools can be thought of as an entrepreneurial startup. Officially, a charter school is a public school operating under an agreement (the charter) with a chartering authority, such as a school district. Charter schools are free from many regulations that apply to other public schools. In exchange for this freedom, charter schools are held to a very high standard of success, and may be closed for failure to reach this standard. For some more unbiased info on charter schools, go to Ed Source at http://www.edsource.org/edu_chart.
A charter school is a nonsectarian public school of choice that operates 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. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school’s contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor-usually a state or local school board-to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them and the public that funds them.
