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

Public charter schools were created to provide innovative, flexible 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. Although charter schools are exempt from some state and district regulations, they are held to extremely high levels of accountability. In addition to meeting state accountability requirements, charter schools must also meet the requirements set out in their charter and agreed to by their sponsor. A sponsor may either not renew or terminate a school’s charter if the school is not producing results or meeting the terms of their charter. ... more