ed management by city officials (Tushnet 1). The impetus behind the hybrid is at attempt to invest in more innovative educational methods and thereby hopefully improve student performance (Miron & Nelson n.p.). In some cases, charter schools are set up to attempt such innovative methods on students who have trouble in traditional public schools. For example, Maria Chute, an arts instructor at the Survival Charter School in Lake Worth, Florida, points out that her school accepts students who have trouble succeeding in more traditional public schools. In particular, Survival Charter accepts many students who have been removed from public schools due to learning disabilities or disciplinary problems. In fact, Ms. Chute estimates that more than 90 percent of her students are currently on some form of juvenile probation. "These students need a lot more time and patience than teachers in public schools have to give them. We keep our classes small for that very reason," Ms. Chute notes. Ms. Chute also notes, however, that she believes she has a lot more freedom to try non-traditional teaching strategies in her classroom than she would likely have in a more traditional school.
Charter schools, therefore, operate as hybrid private-public schools. They allow parents and students a choice as to what school the students will attend while still enjoying the protections and financial assistance of the federal government. Thus far, however, the success of such schools has not yet been proven. Miron & Nelson (2002) note, for example, the problems of accountability and oversight found in many schools largely due to the government's "hands off" approach. Thus, for many parents and students seeking alternatives to the problems of what are perceived as "substandard" public schools, school voucher programs seem a viable alternative.
School voucher programs extend the public-private hybrid of charter schools. Such programs provide parents ...