What is a difference between a magnet school and a charter school?
A magnet school is a public school which offers specialized courses or curricula and and usually attracts students from outside an assigned neighborhood attendance zone. There are magnet schools at the elementary school, middle school, and high school levels. Like public schools, charter schools are funded by the state, but are unique in that they control their budget and determine what the curriculum will be. The first charter in California opened in 1992 as the state began exploring different options to reform the traditional public school system. There are now more than 600 charters in the state.
