Charter school

A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autonomy for accountability, that it is freed from the rules but accountable for results.

Charter schools are publicly funded schools that operate independently from their local district. Charter schools are often operated and maintained by a charter management organization (CMO). CMOs are typically non-profit organizations and provide centralized services for a group of charter schools. There are some for-profit education management organizations. Charter schools are held accountable by their authorizer. There is debate on whether charter schools should be described as private schools or state schools. Advocates of the charter model state that they are public schools because they are open to all students and do not charge for tuition. Critics of charter schools assert that charter schools' private operation with a lack of public accountability makes them more like private institutions subsidized by the public.

There is dispute on whether charter schools are more effective than public schools. Several studies find that charter school students are generally more advanced in their education compared to their public school counterparts, and that especially disadvantaged children and children of color tend to perform better. For example, charter school students gain 16 days' learning in reading and six in math over their traditional public school peers, reversing previous trends where public school students performed equally or slightly better. They also receive significantly less funding than public schools.

All Australian private schools have received some federal government funding since the 1970s. Since then they have educated approximately 30% of high school students. None of them are charter schools, as all charge tuition fees.

Since 2009, the Government of Western Australia has been trialling the Independent Public School (IPS) Initiative. These public schools have greater autonomy and could be regarded as akin to 'charter' schools (but the term is not used in Australia).

The first charter school in Bulgaria, 151 General Education School with Interest-Based Profiles, was established in 1990 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Canadian province of Alberta enacted legislation in 1994 allowing charter schools. The first charter schools under the new legislation were established in 1995: New Horizons Charter School, Suzuki Charter School, and the Centre for Academic and Personal Excellence. As of 2015^[update], Alberta remains the only Canadian province that has enabled charter schools.

There are 23 charter school campuses operated by 13 Alberta charter schools. The number of charter schools was limited to a maximum of 15, but the Provincial government eliminated this cap effective September 2020.