How does a charter public school differ from a traditional public school?

Charter public schools were created to provide innovative and creative educational choices for students and their parents. As such, they are exempt from many state and school district regulations and tend to have more autonomy than a traditional public school. In Indiana, an individual charter school is considered to be its own local educational agency (LEA), meaning it is treated as an autonomous entity that is independent from a school district. For some purposes, including funding purposes and other purposes specified in legislation, charter schools are treated as their own school corporations. Although charter public schools are exempt from some state and district regulations, they are held to high levels of accountability. In addition to meeting state and federal accountability requirements, charter schools must also meet the requirements set out in their charter and agreed to by their sponsor. A sponsor may revoke a school’s charter at any time if the school is not producing ...  more