In recent years, many parents, educators, students, researchers, and observers have reached the same conclusion: Traditional schools do not work for all students. As a result, several educational alternatives have been developed in an attempt to better meet the needs of those students who are not being adequately served by traditional schools. This article is the first in a series developed to provide parents with more information on some nontraditional education alternatives.

One alternative that is now available in many states is the charter school. Although the number of charter schools has grown in the last few years, it still is sometimes unclear what they have to offer students, parents, and educators that more traditional school systems do not already provide. The following article and list of additional resources are intended to increase parents' understanding of what charter schools are, where they came from, and how they are trying to reform public education.

A charter school is a public school that is established through a contract that specifies both the operating procedures of the school and the length of time that the school will receive public support. In most cases, the state or a local school board issues the individual school's contract or charter. Some states have created school boards specifically responsible for monitoring charter schools (Nelson et al., 2000). Although charter schools are not managed in the same manner as conventional public schools, they are still regarded as public schools because they are supported by, open to, and accountable to the public (Finn, Manno, & Vanourek, 2000).

Regardless of how they are defined, almost all charter schools operate on three basic principles:

Accountability: Charter schools emphasize that they are held accountable to parents and the state for how well they educate students and may be required to file annual results of tests or other measures. If the tests or measures are not at acceptable levels, the governing board may revoke the school's charter, in effect, closing the school (Center for Education Reform [CER], 2000; Good & Braden, 2000).
Choice: Charter schools provide parents and students with an alternative to traditional public schools in their area without charging them tuition. Charter schools also provide teachers and others opportunities to educate children using methods that might be discouraged or unavailable to them in district schools (CER, 2000).
Autonomy: Charter schools are not bound by many of the state regulations or bureaucratic "red tape" that sometimes make it difficult to complete even the simplest task in traditional schools. Many operators find that the elimination of so much paperwork has made it much easier for them to focus on their main purpose of educating students (CER, 2000; Finn, Manno, & Vanourek, 2000; Good & Braden, 2000).
As described by Finn, Manno, and Vanourek (2000), a charter school is considered a hybrid of both public and private schools. Like public schools, charter schools are open to all students, although some may have a specific focus that may appeal more to some students than to others. Charter schools are similar to private schools in that they are independent and self-governing, and the students, parents, and teachers choose to participate in the school.

Unlike either traditional public or private schools, charter schools are viewed as being more accountable for student performance because the school may be closed if it fails to produce promised or desired results. Indeed, the charter school application is required to explain why the school is needed, how it will operate, what academic and nonacademic results will be achieved, and how these results will be validated and assessed (Finn, Manno, & Vanourek, 2000).

Brief History of Charter Schools
The charter school movement in the United States began in 1991 when Minnesota passed the first state law allowing the establishment of a charter school. Currently, 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have laws or provisions in place that allow for the founding of charter schools. Charter school legislation is slightly different in each state. Some states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, and North Carolina, allow only a limited number of charter schools to exist at one time. Arizona (which has more charter schools than any other state) and some other states do not limit the number of schools, but they do limit the number of new charters that may be granted during a specific time period.

In most states, almost anyone can request a charter to start a school. Many of the existing charter schools were founded by groups of educators, parents, and community leaders. Community organizations, schools districts, colleges, and universities have created other schools. In addition, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts, as well as some other states, have facilities operating as charter schools that work collaboratively with for-profit education companies or corporations to provide some or all of their academic services.

Although they have created considerable controversy, charter schools are not a completely new idea. Indeed, some charter schools resemble two other education reforms-magnet and alternative schools. Like charter schools, magnet schools give parents and students an opportunity to choose the school that best fits their goals and interests. Many magnet schools also parallel some charter schools by utilizing multicultural curricula (Klauke, 1988). Similarly, alternative schools often use specific academic and nonacademic programs to attract students-particularly those students who are at risk for failure, disabled, or of limited English proficiency (LEP). However, magnet and alternative schools operate as part of their local school district and are not held to separate levels of accountability in the same way as a charter school (Klauke, 1989).

Even though they have yet to provide long-term proof of their success, the demand for charter schools continues to rise throughout the country. Of the 1,605 individual and branch charter schools operating during September 1999, 70% have a waiting list of students seeking enrollment. During the 1998-1999 school year, charter school enrollment increased by almost 90,000 students, bringing total attendance to more than 250,000 students nationwide. Furthermore, increased public interest and access to federal funds have made it much easier for new charter schools to get started. As of September 1999, 421 new charter schools opened their doors, with 64 new schools opening in Texas and 56 new schools opening in California. To date, 50% of all the nation's charter schools are located in Arizona, California, Michigan, and Texas (Nelson et al., 2000).

In spite of the continuous increase in the number of charter schools and students they serve, it is important to note that the development of charter schools has been difficult. Since 1992, 59 charter schools have opened and closed with 27 schools closing during the 1998-1999 school year alone (Nelson et al., 2000). Many closures appear to have resulted from serious management or financial problems (Archer, 2000). Of those charter schools still in operation, inadequate funding is the greatest obstacle to running a charter school. Lack of planning time, inadequate facilities, and opposition from state, local, or district boards of education are also common problems experienced by charter school educators (Nelson et al., 2000).

Types of Charter Schools
There are generally three types of charter schools (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory [NWREL], 2000).

Newly created schools: Schools that did not operate prior to the establishment of the charter (approximately 70% of all charter schools).
Pre-existing schools that convert to charter schools: Schools that previously operated as an educational facility but converted to charter school status,
For-profit schools: Schools that are operated by a private company or corporation that has applied for charter status.
Educator Joe Schneider feels that some charters schools can also be described as "do-gooder, ethnic and disgruntled parents' charters." Comprising approximately 25% of all new charters, "Do-gooder charters" are schools founded specifically to serve hard-to-educate students who may be learning or physically disabled, economically disadvantaged, or otherwise "at-risk." Ethnic charter schools have been founded with the intent of serving an ethnically disadvantaged minority such as African-American or Hispanic students, tend to be in urban areas, and frequently include multicultural curricula and conflict resolution training (Schneider, 1999).

Disgruntled parents' charters are founded by parents who are not happy with the traditional schools their children attend. The children may have been left behind academically or socially, or the school may not be meeting their needs in other ways. Many of these parents are concerned that the school system is failing them and believe that in a charter school setting parent voices will be heard and their child's needs met (Schneider, 1999).

Funding

Like traditional public schools, charter school funding is based on enrollment or average daily attendance, but most charter schools do not receive the same level of state support as district schools (U. S. Charter Schools [USCS], 2000). In most cases, charter schools receive from 85% to 95% of the funds allotted to traditional public schools and are not eligible for district funding. (NWREL, 2000).

Although they do not have access to the same level of state or district funds, charter schools are eligible for many federally funded programs as well as some newly funded initiatives designed specifically for charter schools. Many charter schools have learned to operate successfully by reducing their costs in the following ways:

employing only minimal administrative staff;
hiring uncertified teachers;
using parents and other volunteers in place of paid personnel in certain uncertified positions;
providing only academic/classroom-related activities instead of distributing funds to sports, theater, and other extracurricular programs;
establishing contracts with private businesses for many expensive services, such as lunches, which not only saves the school money on personnel and services but often gives them a cut of the profits; and
developing partnerships with private businesses and community organizations that donate funds or materials.

Concerns about Charter Schools
Despite the fact that charter schools are exempt from various state and local rules and regulations, they are not free to ignore federal laws. This fact is especially important in reviewing the way charter schools have addressed the needs of special education students and ethnically diverse students. Many charter schools do not comply with any of the federal special education or disability statutes, and some charter schools discourage disabled students from enrolling, because they view special education students as a financial liability (Stoneman, 1998; Ahearn, 1999).

One of the main reasons for the disparity between expectation and performance is that most state charter school laws do very little to address issues affecting learning disabled students. According to Ahearn (1999) approximately half of all states with charter school legislation have neglected preparing written policies related to special education. Most state charter school laws are concerned with the bureaucracy of special education procedures or funding. These laws usually do not address how charter schools should meet the needs of students with disabilities. Other states attempt to avoid the process of having to re-legislate these issues by either requiring charter schools to adhere to the same regulations as district schools or mandating that the local school district remain primarily responsible for providing special education services. Nonetheless, very little has been done to ensure that charter schools adequately serve disabled students, and many observers believe that better regulation is needed (Ahearn, 1999; Jennings et al., 1998; Zollers & Ramanathan, 1998). As a result, some students who left district schools for charter schools in the early years of their development have since returned to district schools (Zollers & Ramanathan, 1998). Other parents feel that charter schools do a better job of educating disabled students because there is less bureaucratic "red tape" and negative stigma, and they believe their disabled child has made more academic gains in the charter school (Fiore, Warren, & Cashman, 1998).

Another criticism of charter schools has been that they "cream" well-off, high-achieving and white students from traditional public schools. However, analysis of enrollment and attendance records has revealed that racial composition tends to follow the same patterns in charter schools as those found in public schools. For the past three academic years, charter schools have enrolled approximately the same percentage of students from different racial and ethnic groups as those found in traditional public schools. During the 1998-1999 school year, charter schools enrolled approximately 11% fewer Caucasian, 5% more African-American and 3% more Latino students than did all public schools. Although many feared that charter schools would be available and accessible only to white and well-to-do students, this is clearly not the case. (Nelson, et al., 2000).

Parent Satisfaction
There is a high rate of parent satisfaction with their child's charter school, although this trend is no indication of the school's success (Bowman, 2000). Indeed, it should come as no surprise that parents are happier with schools that have afforded them the opportunity to choose the school they believe is best for their children, often promise academic success and achievement, and give them the chance to try something new. For culturally and linguistically diverse parents and students, charter schools may also give them a chance to exercise their right to choose a school without paying tuition. Charter schools may provide a more culturally sensitive education and environment than that found in traditional public schools that have a long history of providing substandard service in their communities (Schnaiberg, 2000).

Although many families have been pleased with charter schools, there are still things that these schools lack that deter some minority and poor families from seeking enrollment. The biggest obstacles have been their failures to provide transportation to schools outside of the community and free lunches to eligible students (Schnaiberg, 2000).

Furthermore, staff/faculty approach and school demands for certain types of parent involvement may discourage many parents who may not be able to fulfill the requirements. Although they would like to provide a better education for their children, many parents are unable to volunteer time at their child's school because of other work and family demands on their time (Schnaiberg, 2000; Schwartz, 1996).

In spite of these difficulties, charter schools will likely remain a growing and acceptable option to traditional public schools for many students and their families.

For More Information

AERO-The Alternative Education Resource Organization
http://www.edrev.org/

Applying federal civil rights laws to public charter schools
http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/fr/civil_rights.htm

Arizona Charter Schools Association
http://www.azcharters.org/ [NPIN editor's note (7-22-02): this url is no longer active]

Berman, Paul; Nelson, Beryl; Ericson, John; Perry, Rebecca; & Silverman, Debra. (1998, July). A national study of charter schools: Second-year report.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/charter98/

Berman, Paul; Nelson, Beryl; Perry, Rebecca; Silverman, Debra; Solomon, Debra; & Kamprath, Nancy. (1999, May). The state of charter schools: Third-year report.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/charter3rdyear/

California Network of Educational Charters
http://www.canec.org/

Center for Education Reform
http://edreform.com/

Charter Friends National Network
http://www.charterfriends.org/

Charter School Project-Colorado
http://www.charterproject.org/

Charter School Research Project
http://csr.syr.edu/index.html [NPIN editor's note (5-30-01): this url is no longer active]

Charter School Resource Center of Texas
http://www.charterstexas.org/

Duskin, Meg S. (2000, March/April). In the know: Education in Election 2000. National Voter, 49 (3), 6-11.

GoalLine
http://www.goalline.org

Hadderman, Margaret. (1998, February). Charter schools. ERIC Digest. Eugene, OR: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management. http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest118.html

Henderson, Kelly. (1995, June). Overview of ADA, IDEA, and Section 504. ERIC Digest. Reston, VA: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education. (ERIC Document No. ED389142.) http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed389142.html

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute-Center for School Change
http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/school-change/

Hudson Institute: Charter Schools in Action Project final report, 1997
http://www.edexcellence.net/chart/charttoc.htm

Inger, Morton. (1991). Improving urban education with magnet schools. ERIC Digest. New York: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education.
http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/digests/dig76.html

Izumi, Lance. (1998, January 14). Charter schools and the hard-to-educate. Capital Ideas, 3 (2). Available: http://www.pacificresearch.org/capital/98-01-14.html [NPIN Editor's note (05-01-02): this URL has changed: http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/cap/1998/98-01-14.html]

Lange, Cheryl. (1997, May). Charter schools and special education: A handbook Available: http://www.uscharterschools.org/res_dir/res_primary/res_nasdse.htm [Access date: 2000, September 26].
[NPIN Editor's note (10-3-00): this url has changed: http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gb/sped.htm]

Michigan Association of Public School Academies (Charter Schools)
http://www.charterschools.org/core.html [NPIN Editor's note (9-13-02): this url has changed: http://www.charterschools.org/pages/index.cfm]

Middleweb-Exploring Middle School Reform
http://www.middleweb.com/

North Central Regional Education Laboratory: Charter Schools
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/timely/charters.htm

Pioneer Institute-Charter School Resource Center
http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/csrc/

Public Charter Schools Program
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/promisinginitiatives/charter.html

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
http://www.sedl.org/policy/charter.html [NPIN Editor's note (01-21-03): this url has changed: http://www.sedl.org/welcome.html]

U. S. Charter Schools
http://www.uscharterschools.org

To view state specific legislation and charter school information, see http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gi/state_map.htm

U. S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov

Sources

Ahearn, Eileen. (1999, March). Charter schools and special education: A report on state policies [Online]. Available: http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/fr/sped_policies.htm [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Archer, Jeff. (2000, May 17). Accountability measures vary widely. Education Week, 19 (36), 1, 18-20.

Bowman, Darcia Harris. (2000, May 3). Charters, vouchers earning mixed report card. Education Week, 19 (34), 1, 19-21.

Center for Education Reform (CER). (2000). Charter school FAQs [Online]. Available: http://edreform.com/school_reform_faq/charter_schools.htm [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Finn, Chester E.; Manno, Bruno V.; & Vanourek, Gregg. (2000). Charter schools in action: Renewing public education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Fiore, Thomas A.; Warren, Sandra H.; & Cashman, Erin R. (1998, November). Charter schools and students with disabilities: A review of existing data [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/chartdisab/ [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Good, Thomas L., & Braden, Jennifer S. (2000). The great school debate: Choice, vouchers and charters. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Jennings, Wayne; Premack, Eric; Adelmann, Andrew; & Solomon, Debra. (1998, October). A comparison of charter school legislation: Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia incorporating legislative changes through October 1998. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Klauke, Amy. (1989). Choice in the public schools. ERIC Digest [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed309565.html [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Klauke, Amy. (1988). Magnet schools. ERIC Digest [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed293225.html [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Nelson, Beryl; Berman, Paul; Ericson, John; Kamprath, Nancy; Perry, Rebecca; Silverman, Debi; & Solomon, Debra. (2000, January). The state of charter schools 2000: Fourth-year report [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/charter4thyear/ [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (NWREL). (2000). Charter schools [Online]. Available: http://www.nwrel.org/charter/ [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Schnaiberg, Lynn. (2000, May 10). Charter schools: Choice, diversity may be at odds. Education Week, 19 (35), 1, 18-20.

Schneider, Joe. (1999, August). Five prevailing charter types. School Administrator, 56 (7), 29-31. (ERIC Journal No. EJ589466)

Schwartz, Wendy. (1996, November). How well are charter schools serving urban and minority students? ERIC Digest [Online]. Available: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/digests/dig119.html [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Stoneman, Christine. (1998, Fall). New battlegrounds. Rethinking Schools Online, 13 (1) [Online]. Available: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/Archives/13_01/speced.htm [NPIN Editor's note (6-16-03): this url has changed: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/13_01/speced.shtml] [Access date: 2000, September 26].

U.S. Charter Schools. (2000). Frequently asked questions (for reporters) [Online]. Available: http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gi/faq.htm [Access date: 2000, September 26].

Zollers, Nancy J., & Ramanathan, Arun K. (1998, December). For-profit charter schools and students with disabilities. Phi Delta Kappan, 80 (4), 297-304. (ERIC Journal No. EJ577268)