Knowledge
What is a charter school?
Charter schools are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional public schools.
There are three types of charter schools created by the Texas Education Code. They are all public schools. Two exist solely within independent school districts (ISDs). The third type is open enrollment charter schools. These exist outside the ISDs.
Open enrollment charter schools are:
· Tuition-free,
· Non-selective (admission is by lottery or first-come/first-served), and
· Open to families in a broad geographical area, often 10 or more ISDs.
Charters are known for having:
· Less bureaucracy and red tape,
· At-will employment, and
· A high degree of accountability to parents.
Rather than being run directly by the government, open enrollment charter schools are 501c3 nonprofits that receive government funding, like most colleges. By law, 501c3 nonprofits serve the public good, do not have owners, and do not accrue profit. There is a merit-based selection process by which the State of Texas contracts with specific nonprofits to create charter schools.
WERe charter schools meant to be laboratories of innovation for traditional public SCHOOL districts?
Maybe somewhere, but not in Texas. Texas charter schools were created by the legislature to accomplish five purposes:
1. Improve student learning,
2. Increase the choice of learning opportunities within the public school system,
3. Create professional opportunities that will attract new teachers to the public school system,
4. Establish a new form of accountability for public schools, and
5. Encourage different and innovative learning methods.
See Texas Education Code § 12.001.
