Charter school

A charter school is a special kind of school that is paid for by the government but runs on its own rules. Unlike regular schools, charter schools do not have to follow all the same rules as other public schools.

In 2003, Granada Hills Charter High School in Los Angeles became the largest charter school in the United States.

These schools get their money from the government like other public schools, but they have more freedom to decide how to use that money and how to run their classrooms. This means they can try new teaching methods or focus on special areas that they think are important.

The idea behind charter schools is that by giving them this freedom, they can become even better at teaching students. However, they must still prove that they are successful, usually by showing good results in student learning and achievement. This balance of freedom and responsibility is what makes charter schools different from other schools.

Nature

Charter schools are paid for by the public but run in their own way, separate from the usual school system. They are often managed by groups called charter management organizations, which are usually non-profit groups that help many charter schools. Some are run by companies that specialize in education. These schools must answer to an authorizer, who checks that they are doing well. Some people think charter schools are like private schools because they operate on their own, while others say they are public schools because they do not charge students to attend.

By country

Australia

All private schools in Australia have received some government funding since the 1970s. Since then, they have educated about 30% of high school students. None of these schools are charter schools because they all charge tuition fees.

Since 2009, the government of Western Australia has been testing a plan called the Independent Public School Initiative. These public schools have more freedom and could be thought of as similar to charter schools, though the term is not used in Australia.

Bulgaria

The first charter school in Bulgaria, 151 General Education School with Interest-Based Profiles, opened in 1990 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Canada

The province of Alberta made laws in 1994 allowing charter schools. The first charter schools under these new laws opened in 1995: New Horizons Charter School, Suzuki Charter School, and the Centre for Academic and Personal Excellence. As of 2015, Alberta is the only Canadian province that allows charter schools.

There are 23 charter school campuses run by 13 Alberta charter schools. The number of charter schools was limited to 15, but the government removed this limit in September 2020.

Catalonia

In Catalonia, charter schools are called escola concertada. These are schools for required education that receive government money and follow the official lessons, but are owned by private groups. This started after a law called the Organic Law on the Right to Education was approved in 1985. It aimed to make sure all children could go to school, especially in areas where there weren’t enough public schools. About 27% of students in Catalonia go to charter schools.

Chile

Chile has a long history of private schools that get government money, similar to charter schools in the United States. Before the 1980s, most of these schools were religious and owned by churches or other private groups, but they got help from the government. In the 1980s, leader Augusto Pinochet made changes to the education system. In 1981, a system where parents could use vouchers to pay for school was started. These vouchers could be used at public schools or private schools that get government money. After this change, the number of private schools that get government money grew from 18.5% in 1980 to 32.7% in 2001. As of 2012, about 60% of students in Chile go to charter schools.

Denmark

England and Wales

Main articles: Academy (English school) and Free school (England)

The United Kingdom started grant-maintained schools in England and Wales in 1988. These schools could operate independently from local school authorities. When they were ended in 1998, most became foundation schools, which still have a lot of freedom but are under their local district.

Before the 2010 election, there were about 200 academies (public schools with a lot of freedom) in England.

Finland

In 2007, there were 75 private general education schools in Finland. Of these, 47 were part of the Association of Private Schools. Besides special education schools, 13% of students in these schools were in adult secondary schools, 8% in language schools, 8% in special education schools, and 5% in Christian schools. According to the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation, twenty of the private schools were Christian in 2011.

Charter school share in the United States by state Public charter school Private school Private EdChoice Homeschool Magnet school Public school

Private schools started opening in Finland in the mid-1800s, reaching a peak of 346 schools between 1965 and 1966, before numbers began to fall in the late 1960s and 1970s due to changes in how schools were run. More than 80% of Finnish upper secondary schools were originally run by private groups or companies. Private primary schools need a license from the government to operate, and other schools need approval from the Ministry of Education. Most private schools follow the national curriculum. Some exceptions are international and foreign language schools. Private schools cannot charge tuition fees, but they get money from the government and local areas based on the number of students. The group running a private school must be a non-profit organization.

Germany

Running private preschools, primary and secondary schools is allowed under Art. 7 of the German constitution. These schools follow rules set by the state they are in and must not be worse than public schools in quality or teaching. They also cannot make students separate based on their parents’ money. In return, private schools get money from the government. How much control the state has over these schools varies. In 2009, the government paid about 85% of the total cost for private schools.

Hong Kong

Main article: Direct Subsidy Scheme

Some private schools in Hong Kong get money from the government under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS). DSS schools can choose their own lessons, pick their students, and charge tuition. Some DSS schools used to be public schools before joining the scheme.

Ireland

Irish Charter Schools were mostly set up in the 1700s by the Church of Ireland to help poor children. They were paid for by the government or charities but run by the church. The model was based on Kilkenny College, but some people, like Bernard Mandeville, thought teaching too many poor children might give them unrealistic hopes. Well-known examples include the Collegiate School Celbridge, Midleton College, Wilson’s Hospital School and The King’s Hospital.

Netherlands

Main article: Special school (Netherlands)

New Zealand

Charter schools in New Zealand, called Partnership schools | kura hourua, were allowed after an agreement between the National Party and the ACT Party after the 2011 election. The law passed with only five votes more. A small number of these schools opened in 2013 and 2014. They mainly help students who have had trouble in regular schools. Most of these students have issues with drugs, alcohol, not coming to school, and not doing well. Most students are Maori or Pacific Islander. One of these schools is set up like a military academy. One school had big problems soon after it opened and is now run by a government group along with a special manager. 36 groups have applied to start charter schools.

Norway

Sweden

United States

SER-Niños Charter School, a charter school in the Gulfton area of Houston, Texas

Charter schools are public schools that get government money but run differently. They have a contract that explains how they will be run, what students will learn, and how they will be checked. Many charter schools do not have to follow all the same rules as other public schools if they meet their contract goals.

Minnesota passed the first charter school law in the United States in 1991. As of 2015, Minnesota had 165 charter schools with over 41,000 students. The first charter school approved was Bluffview Montessori School in Winona, Minnesota, opening in 1992. The first charter school to open was City Academy in St. Paul. Some special charter schools in Minnesota include the Metro Deaf School (1993), Community of Peace Academy (1995), and the Mainstreet School of Performing Arts (2004).

As of December 2021, about 8,000 charter schools had about 3.7 million students across the country. This is 7.4% of all public school students. In the 2021–22 school year, 291 new charter schools opened, but the number of students in charter schools went down by 15,047. The 2020–21 year saw a big increase in students in charter schools, but the next year was the first time the number of students went down.

The biggest changes to charter schools in the United States happened in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. By 2009, the New Orleans Public Schools were changing to give more power to charter school leaders and boards. Parents could choose almost any school in the area. New Orleans is one of two cities in the United States where most students go to charter schools. In the 2011–12 school year, 78% of students in New Orleans went to charter schools. By May 2014, almost all public schools in New Orleans were charter schools.

Laws about charter schools are different in each state. The states with the most charter school students are California, Arizona, and Michigan. These differences include which groups can start charter schools, whether private schools can become charter schools, and what kind of teaching certification charter school teachers need.

In California, local school districts most often start charter schools. If a district says no to a charter school, or if the school will offer services the district does not provide, a county board or the state board can approve the charter. In Arizona, the State Board for Charter Schools approves charters. Local districts and the state board can also approve them. In Michigan, only local school boards or state college and university boards can start charter schools.

States have different rules about private schools becoming charter schools. California does not allow it. Arizona and Michigan allow it, but with different rules. In Michigan, a private school must have at least 25% new students to become a charter school. In Arizona, private schools must have fair and non-discriminatory admission policies. Michigan and California require charter school teachers to have state certification, but Arizona does not.

Charter schools were part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. This law said students at schools not meeting standards could move to a different school, including charter schools.

As of 2005, there were almost 100 charter schools in North Carolina, the limit set by laws in 1996. These laws were meant to give parents more choices for their children, with most costs paid by taxes. After the first few years, the power to approve charter schools moved from local school boards to the State Board of Education. This is similar to other states that have different groups that can approve charter school applications.

Charter schools often say they are nonprofit, but most run in a system where they can make money. The buildings they use are usually owned by private landlords. This makes these schools interesting to real-estate investors and contractors. Charter schools have grown since the 1990s in the US, but many have closed. A recent study found that more than a quarter of new charter schools closed after 5 years, and about half closed after 15 years. As of 2015, 6,700 charter schools had about 2.9 million students in the United States.

Performance

There is debate about whether charter schools work better than public schools. Some studies show that charter school students usually do better than public school students, and children from difficult backgrounds often improve more. For example, charter school students learn 16 more days in reading and six more days in math than students in public schools, which is a change from earlier when public school students did the same or a little better.

Cyber schools

Main article: Virtual school

Charter cyber schools work like other charter schools but teach students partly or fully online. Supporters say this gives more flexibility than regular schools.

For the 2000–2001 school year, studies estimated about 45,000 students nationwide were learning online. Six years later, a study found over 1 million students were involved. A study by Watson, Murin, Vashaw, Gemin, and Rapp found that cyber charter schools now operate in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

More people have talked about these online schools. In November 2015, researchers from the University of Washington, Stanford University, and Mathematica Policy Research published a big study of online charter schools in the United States, called the “National Study of Online Charter Schools”. The study found that students in these schools did much worse in math and reading than students in regular schools. The study looked at schools in 17 US states. It said the biggest problem for online schools was keeping students focused, and in math, online students missed out on a whole year of learning compared to regular students.

Four states have made special laws for cyber charter schools. Arizona has about 3,500 students in cyber schools, about half in cyber charter schools and half in traditional public schools. These schools teach students from kindergarten to 12th grade, and some students learn fully online at home while others go to a school building to learn online.

Cyber charter school diplomas are not always valued the same by colleges. Some colleges ask for more or limit how many students they accept from these schools. The US military also ranks these diplomas lower, but students can still join if they do well on the ASVAB test.

Charter schools and public schools

In 2014, New Orleans became the first place in the United States to have a school system where every school was a charter school, called the Recovery School District.

In 2017, the National Education Association made a policy statement supporting public schools. Since charter schools use tax money, they should have the same rules, openness, protections, and fairness as public schools. Forty-four states and Washington, D.C. have laws about charter schools. However, many states do not make sure charter schools follow open meeting laws or rules about conflicts of interest like school districts do.

The first Trump administration’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos strongly supported school choice and charter schools.