Magnet schools are elementary and secondary public schools that enroll students on a voluntary basis from anywhere within the school district in which they are eligible and that employ innovative instructional methods or offer specialized curricula typically not found in other public schools.

Magnet schools come in a variety of forms. Some are described as “dedicated magnets” because all students who attend were selected from a districtwide pool of applicants and all participate in the magnet [Page 446]program. Magnet schools can also be created in a way such that they partially resemble traditional neighborhood schools while offering all the curricular and pedagogical features of magnet schools. Such schools offer magnet programs in which all students participate, but students are selected from both surrounding neighborhoods and a ...