What is a charter school?

Charter schools receive public funding and are tuition-free for students. They are typically governed by a group or organization under a legislative contract—a charter—with the state or school district. This agreement between the state and the charter school allows the school to have increased flexibility and autonomy while also being required to meet the accountability standards as set by the state. These agreements (or charters) are periodically reviewed by the state/school district and can be revoked if the conditions of the charter are not met.

Why do we have charter schools?

Charter schools all began in 1991 in Minnesota. The charter school movement experienced rapid growth throughout the states in the 1990s and early 2000s. The push for charter schools came from a desire for education reform and an attempt to introduce innovation and competition into the public education system. Charter school advocates hoped to provide increased choice and learning opportunities, especially to students who are at risk of academic failure or who are academically gifted. Charter schools often garner bipartisan support: conservative voters like the limited government control and market competition while progressive voters like that all families get to choose their children’s schools, regardless of socioeconomic status. 

Why People Like Charter Schools:

1. Innovation and Flexibility: Charter schools have the freedom to develop their own curriculum and teaching methods, which can be beneficial in meeting the needs of diverse student populations. While they are still required to meet state academic standards, they have more flexibility in how they achieve these standards compared to traditional public schools, which often follow district-prescribed curricula.
2. Parental Choice: Charter schools offer parents an alternative to traditional public schools, providing them with more options to select an educational environment that aligns with their child’s learning style and values.
3. Small Class Sizes and Personalized Learning: Many charter schools emphasize smaller class sizes and individualized attention, though this is not universal. 
4. Addressing Specific Needs: Some charter schools specialize in serving specific communities or addressing particular educational needs, such as language immersion programs, arts-focused curricula, or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. 

Why people dislike charter schools:

1. Shifting funds from local schools: Because charter schools are funded through public entities and tax dollars, critics argue that they take money and potential resources away from local public schools. Additionally, charter schools do not have to provide transportation to school, nor are they required to provide free/reduced lunch to qualified students. 
2. Lack of Accountability: Critics argue that because charter schools are run by appointed boards (versus an elected school board) and they are exempt from many of the requirements of traditional public schools, this leads to a lack of transparency and accountability. Charter schools are governed by independent boards that are not elected by public vote and in some states, board members don’t even have to live in the state where the school is located. 
3. Variable Quality and Performance: The performance of charter schools varies widely, with some achieving remarkable success while others struggle academically or face financial mismanagement. Charter schools do not have the same requirements for teaching staff and in some states teachers do not have to be licensed. 
4. Potential for Exclusionary Practices: While charter schools typically have open enrollment policies, they may prioritize certain groups of students (for example,  siblings or children of board members) which can lead to concerns about equity and access compared to traditional public schools, which are required to serve all students within their attendance boundaries. Additionally, charter school families often face the financial burden of paying for uniforms (required at some charters), transportation, and lunches. 

Prevalence of Charter Schools

Between school years 2010–11 and 2021–22, the number of public charter schools in the United States increased from approximately 5,300 to 7,800, an increase from 5% to 8% of all public schools. 45 out of 50 states currently have legislative approval for public charter schools. Notably, a disproportionate share of charter school students are either Hispanic (33% of all charter students) or Black (26%). This is partly due to the fact that a much larger share of charter schools (57%) operate in cities versus traditional public schools in cities (25%).  

Do charter schools provide special education support?

Charter schools must provide all special education supports identified through a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), just as a public school would. There can be, however, a large variance on how well a charter school provides these services. It is important for parents to talk to school administrators and parents at the school to determine if the charter school that you are considering provides adequate special education services.  

Do charter schools produce better outcomes?

The research on charter school outcomes is mixed and the effectiveness of charter schools varies from school to school. There are some charter schools that consistently outperform traditional public schools and these are known as the “no excuses model” schools, made famous by a national network of charter schools known as KIPP. But these schools also receive a lot of criticism in the educational world. Otherwise, many charter schools do not, on average, produce student achievement gains any better than traditional public schools. 

In Emily Oster’s recent book The Family Firm she explains that charter schools do sometimes produce greater academic outcomes than their traditional public school counterparts. However, this is most true when the alternative to the charter school is a failing, under-performing public school. In these cases, the charter schools tend to show large, positive impacts on test scores. On the converse, in places where the default public school has higher test scores already, the impact of the charter school is neutral (and sometimes even worse than the public school).  

I think it’s important to note here that the academic impact that is discussed in the research is based on test scores which are not the only thing that is important in education. When evaluating a potential charter school for your child, you may want to consider additional factors such as school environment, distance from your home, teacher turnover and pay, average class size, and additional supports provided by the school.  

CHARTER SCHOOLS IN YOUR STATE

Are you curious how the charter schools stack up in your state? Here is a great state-by-state rundown on how charter schools are governed. You’ll find info like: what are teacher qualifications, what rules are waived for charters in your state, and more! 

What questions do you have? Leave us a comment and let’s start a conversation!