A Public Interest Primer on Charter Schools

The rapid growth in the number of charter schools amounts to the privatization of public education. These schools receive public education money and because of this are often referred to as “public schools,” but this is a mischaracterization. Charter schools are privately operated and generally exempt from many important laws and policies by which public schools must abide. Twenty percent of these schools are operated like for-profit businesses, and many of the schools that are themselves not-for-profit are run by for-profit management companies. Charter schools are less accountable, less transparent, and adjusted for neighborhoods, do not offer substantial performance improvements over public schools. For charter schools to contribute to the public good, they must be accountable in how they manage both the school and public education dollars, operate without undermining existing public schools, and provide a high-quality education for their students.