Charter Schools

The definition of a charter school is a school established by contract with a district Board of Education or the State Board for Charter that will improve pupil achievement (Charter, 2003). Charter schools are established to provide a teaching environment that is designed to improve student achievement. They provide an additional academic choice for parents and students and may consist of new schools, or be all or part of an existing school. Charter schools are an alternative to traditional public schools, but are themselves public schools, although they may not be subject to all the requirements governing traditional public schools. However, charter schools must comply with all provisions of applicable law to receive state funding as prescribed.

The intent of charter school legislation is to improve student learning and achievement; increase the availability of choice to parents and students in selecting a learning environment, encourage the use of different and innovative learning methods; and establish a new system of accountability for schools (Status, 2004). The schools also provide new professional opportunities for teachers. In New Jersey, all teachers and professional support staff must hold appropriate New Jersey certification (About, 2004. Founders of charter schools can be teaching staff, parents with children attending schools of the district, a combination of these, institutions of higher education or a private entity located within the State in conjunc

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onomy over its operation and frees it from regulations binding on other public schools. In exchange for this flexibility, the schools are accountable for achieving the goals set out in the charter, but the difficulty lies in holding them accountable to parents and taxpayers. In 2002, the California State Board of Education reduced funding to 46 charter schools after the schools failed to follow state spending guidelines (NEA, 2004). In 2001, Texas limited the number of state charter schools after 10 such schools closed and left 600 students displaced and forced to repeat grades because of inadequate record keeping. In 1999-2000, 80 percent of children in Texas public schools passed the Texas academic achievement test, while only 37 percent of charter school students passed the same test. In March 2002, the Arizona Board of Education began the process of revoking the Northwest Charter Academy's state contract after it was found to be openly promoting religion in the school. The District of Columbia Board of Education revoked the charters of 17 state charter schools in 2001 because of chronic problems with teaching, discipline, attendance, and administrative oversight. There are current concerns over the proliferation in C

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