What Exactly is a Charter School?

A public charter school is a publicly funded school that is typically governed by a group or organization under a legislative contract (or charter) with the state or jurisdiction. The charter exempts the school from certain state or local rules and regulations, but the charter school must meet the accountability standards outlined in its charter.

The History of Charter Schools

The first law allowing the establishment of charter schools was passed in Minnesota in 1991. By 2014 charter school legislation had been passed in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

• Charter schools are the fastest growing segment in U. S. public education.
• Over the past five years, student enrollment in charter public schools has grown by 62%.
• From 2003 to 2015 the percent of schools that were charter schools rose from 3.1% to 6.6%.
• In 43 states and the District of Columbia, more than 2.9 million students now attend charter schools.
• California has the largest number of students enrolled in charter schools – 513,400.
• In the decade after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans public school system rebuilt into an almost entirely public charter school system.
• In New York City, the number of charter students has quadrupled since 2008.

What is the Purpose of Charter Schools?

By the end of the eighties, the original charter school advocates were dismayed at the low quality of elementary and high school education. They believed that public funds available for education should not be controlled solely by impersonal school districts, but rather by interested local parents.

For nearly 25 years, the charter public school movement has been a leader in innovation and education reform. By unleashing an environment of creativity in states and communities, charter public schools have demonstrated that all children are capable of academic achievement that prepares them to succeed in college, careers, and life. Charter schools have led efforts to eliminate achievement gaps, boost graduation rates, and revitalize communities.

The Opposition

The voices in opposition to the charter school movement claimed that charter schools would drain off funds from the neediest students to the benefit of upper middle class communities. Only those communities could afford to build their own facilities, leaving the poorer students with less funds to improve educational standards in the districts the middle-class abandon.

The Facts Do Not Support Their Case

The history of charter school development does not support their position.

Beginning with the previously mentioned Orleans Parish School District, the following poorer inner city districts led the way in establishing charter schools.

Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Dayton, San Antonio, and Cleveland round out the top ten charter school enrollment districts. Even a cursory glance at this list tells an interesting story. The poorer, Northeast industrial inner-city districts have been the first to embrace charter schools as a partial answer to their dismal school conditions. Every city on the list above is expanding its charter school program in 2017.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest public school district in the US. As the charter movement has taken hold within the district, the number of students attending charter public schools has nearly tripled in just seven years and was over 150,000 last year.

Conclusion

• Despite some formidable opposition, the charter school movement has taken hold in the U.S.
• To put it simply, local control of education, all the way down to the individual school level, is often a viable alternative to the old, large, somewhat impersonal “school district” concept that has evolved in public education.
• Small parental groups know what’s best for their children’s education.
• The charter school movement proves it.