This information comes directly from the California Department of Education:
A charter school is a public school, and it may provide instruction in any of grades K-12. A charter school is usually created or organized by a group of teachers, parents and community leaders or a community based organization, and it is usually sponsored by an existing local public school board or county board of education. Specific goals and operating procedures for the charter school are detailed in an agreement (or charter) between the sponsoring board and charter organizers.
A charter school is generally exempt from most laws governing school districts, except where specifically noted in the law. California public charter schools are required to participate in the statewide assessment test, called the STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) program. The law also requires that a public charter school be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations and prohibits the conversion of a private school to a charter school. Public charter schools may not charge tuition and may not discriminate against any pupil on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability.
Other websites that may be helpful include:
~California Charter School Association www.myschool.org
~Charter Schools Development Center http://www.cacharterschools.org/
~California Department of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov/
Quick Facts about Charter Schools:
- Compared with Europe and the Far East, U.S. students have a very low level of school choice
- Less than 5% of the nation's students attend charter schools (most of these are in urban areas)
- Charter schools use their autonomy to pursue different policies
- Charter schools have different management models
- Charter schools improve the achievement of disadvantaged (poor), urban students (NYC, Chicago, St. Louis, etc)
- Charter schools eventually have a positive effect (student achievement) on the regular public schools around them