A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Charter School Basics

Certain characteristics are common to all public schools, with charter schools being no exception. These characteristics include:

• Cannot charge tuition;

• Must be nonsectarian;

• Are subject to federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination; and

• Must comply with all health and safety laws.

Charter schools also have certain powers granted to them by the state. Charter schools under district control have the same powers as other local schools, while charter schools given nonprofit corporation or independent school district status have greater autonomy. In general, state statutes grant charter schools the ability to do the following:

• Negotiate and contract for facilities, services, etc;

• Acquire real property;

• Receive and disburse funds;

• Incur temporary debt;

• Operate as a business or corporation (providing such operations are not inconsistent with the charter school legislation); and

• Adopt a name and corporate seal.

Although some statutes are more comprehensive than others, all outline the major components of the charter application. The most common elements include the following:

• Statement of educational mission;

• Description of governance and organizational structure;

• Description of facilities to be used and its location;

• Statement of academic and other learning goals and objectives;

• Description of curriculum;

• Description and examples of assessments to be used to measure academic achievement;

• Description of personnel policies;

• Details of transportation plan;

• Description of admission procedure;

• Copies of the annual budget and financial plan (including all sources of funding and terms of fiscal audits);

• Evidence of adequate community support;

• Description of legal liability and applicable insurance coverage;

• Agreement to provide a yearly report to various parties;

• Description of support services;

• Explanation of disciplinary procedures;

• Description of programs to encourage diversity in the student body, including attendance by at-risk students and other special populations;

• Identification of regulations, if any, to be waived;

• School calendar and school day schedule; and

• Description of the age or grade range of pupils to be enrolled.

The remainder of this publication presents policymakers with "considerations"— that is, a brief description of specific issues to be considered in charter school legislation, along with options for actions on these issues.

Considerations:
Types of Charter Schools Permissible

Most states allow for both the conversion of public schools as well as the establishment of new charter schools. A handful of states — Hawaii, Mississippi and New Mexico - only allow existing public schools to convert to charter schools. If conversions are allowed, states often mandate that a certain percentage of teachers and parents in the school or district must support changing to charter school status before the conversion can be made. Currently, almost 60 percent of charter schools are newly created.³

Some states allow home schools or distance-learning facilities and for-profit companies to apply for charters, while others prohibit these types of schools. For-profit corporations such as Edison and Tesserac operate about 10 percent of the nation's charter schools and are especially popular in Massachusetts and Arizona. While some states are hesitant to allocate public education dollars to for-profit corporations, many charter operators often burdened by start-up costs and a lack of planning time - welcome the extensive resources brought to schools by these companies. Home-schooling charters have been equally controversial. In Michigan, for example, the charter school law was amended to prohibit home-schooling charters after the state law that fostered them was ruled unconstitutional because of a perceived lack of supervisory control over the charter schools.

In considering the types of charter schools that may be permitted, examine the following options:

1. Only pre-existing public schools can become charter schools.

• Conversion schools do not have as many start-up costs as new schools.

• Conversion schools give districts a way to create alternative schools within the existing system (e.g., New American Schools, Montessori or Accelerated Schools).

2. Both newly created and pre-existing public, but not private, schools can become charter schools.

• "Start-from-scratch" and pre-existing charter schools allow for the creation of new school cultures.

• "Start-from-scratch" charter schools allow the widest range of innovation because all aspects of the school will be newly created.

3. Newly created, pre-existing public and private schools can become charters.

• As with public conversion schools, private schools are not as influenced by substantial start-up costs and typically have a cogent mission and curriculum in place.

Legal Status of Charter Schools

Charter schools are most often either a part of the sponsoring district or an independent entity (often as a nonprofit corporation), with some states defining them as independent school districts. The legal status of the charter school affects its autonomy. Where charter schools are part of the school district, regulations regarding staffing, collective bargaining agreements and so on often apply equally to charter schools and other public schools. Where charter schools hold independent status, they likely have more autonomy in these decisions than do "traditional" public schools.

Consider the following options:

1. Charter schools should be part of the local district.

• Charter schools are public schools that receive public funding and, therefore, should be legally part of a public government body.

2. Charter schools should be legally independent.

• For charter schools to be innovative, they must be independent from the district and the state.

• Independent status gives charter schools flexibility, increasing their chances of achieving their educational goals.

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This page was last updated January 9, 2002 (jca)