Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools of choice, chosen by teachers, parents, and students. In these schools, [Page 106]teachers and students have more influence on decisions that affect the teacher–learner interaction. Instead of being accountable for compliance to state or district rules and regulations, they are accountable for academic results outlined in their charter.

Charter schools became an integral part of the public school system in the United States when Minnesota enacted the first charter school legislation in 1991 and opened the first charter school in 1992. By 2008, 42 states and the District of Columbia had charter school legislation, and over 4,000 charter schools were in operation throughout the country, serving over one million students. States with the most charter schools are California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Michigan. The development of charter schools grew out of the alternative education movement of the 1960s and 1970s when public education was exploring a variety of ways to educate the increasing size and diversity of the school population. A significant call for reform during those two decades came from large city school systems, for example, in, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and St. Paul.

Ray Buddle, professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is often considered to be the father of the charter school movement. In 1975, Buddle suggested that groups of teachers be given charters by their local school districts to explore alternate and new approaches to teach students. In 1988, Buddle's book, Education by Charter: Restructuring School Districts, advocated empowering teachers to create innovative new programs that would meet the needs of the growing and diverse population of students enrolled in public schools. That same year, Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called for reformation of public schools by establishing schools of choice or charter schools, which would provide teachers with the opportunities to develop more choices in public education.

The charter school concept was supported by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Democrats saw the development of charter schools as a means of providing more education choices for parents and students to improve the quality of education within the public school system. Republicans viewed charter schools as developing competition for quality education that would ultimately be market force driven. They believed that public school funds should follow the students whether they attended public or private schools. With bipartisan support for the charter school concept, the number of charter schools quadrupled between 1996 and 1998.

Charter schools are public schools of choice financed by public funds, not vouchers for private schools; open to all students; distinct legal entities, operated by an array of nonprofit groups, governed by their own charter, not by public school rules and regulations; places where teachers and administrators have more decision-making authority than exists in traditional public schools; generally smaller than traditional schools, providing unique learning environments and alternative learning methods; communities using a wide variety of curriculum and instructional practices; and committed to improving public education.

In order for charter schools to succeed they have to meet three criteria: (1) proper state legislation, (2) an authorizing entity (this varies from state to state, but most often is a local or state school board, a university, or community college), and (3) people to run the school. The provisions in the various states' charter laws vary from very restrictive to very loose; however, the basis of the provisions is designed to ensure choice for parents and students, to provide quality educational opportunities for all students, to meet the needs of most students, to explore and implement innovative ideas about teaching and learning, and to develop a system of accountability that measures students' progress in understandable terms. Laws governing charter schools cover seven basic policies and legal areas: (1) charter development, which includes who may propose a school, how charters are granted, and the number of schools allowed; (2) school status—how the school is legally defined and related governing, operational, and legal issues; (3) fiscal—the level of anticipated funding from the state and other sources; (4) students—how schools are to address admissions, nondiscrimination policies, racial/ethnic balance, discipline policies, and access to special education; (5) staffing and labor relations—whether the school many act as an employer or will a management organization do so (e.g., Edison Schools), which labor relations laws apply, and a definition of staff rights and privileges; (6) instruction—the degree of control the school has over the development of instructional goals and [Page 107]practices; and (7) accountability—whether the school follows a performance-based contract, how assessment methods are selected, and how the charter can be renewed or revoked.

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