Public Charter Schools are independent public schools. Typically, they are given flexibility from the outset to design programs to improve student learning, and in exchange, they agree to specific accountability goals that are determined as part of their “charter” with their authorizer.
Charter schools are open-enrollment schools that must take any student who wants to attend, and they must adhere to federal laws regarding civil rights, discrimination, accountability, etc. In order to operate, a charter school must be granted a “charter,” or contract, through a school system’s local board of education or state-level authorizer.
During the 2012 Alabama legislative session, the Education Options Act of 2012, which would have created guidelines allowing for the creation of public charter schools in Alabama and grant some increased flexibility for traditional public schools, did not pass. Prior to 2012, the Legislature also considered other legislation to allow public charter schools, but no bill passed.
Resources:
Basic Information on Public Charter Schools
Research on Public Charter Schools
Initial Resources for Developing High-Performing Public Charter Schools in Alabama
Basic Information on Public Charter Schools:
Public Charter Schools: The Fundamentals (pdf)
A+ Education Partnership
March 2012
What are charter schools?
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Separating Fact & Fiction: What You Need to Know About Charter Schools (pdf)
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
2014
Estimated Number of Public Charter Schools & Students, 2014-15
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
February 2015
Ten Things You Should Know About Charter Schools (pdf)
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
July 2006
Research on Charter Schools:
The Effect of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature
The Center for Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington
Julian Betts, Y. Emily Tang
October 2011
National Charter School Study 2013 (pdf)
Press Release and Summary (pdf)
Center for Research on Education Outcomes, Stanford University
June 2013
Enhancing Teacher Leadership in Charter Schools
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
November 2011
Incubating High-Quality Charter Schools: Innovations in City-Based Organizations
Public Impact
September 2011
Issue Brief – The Color of Success: Black Student Acheivement in Public Charter Schools
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
June 2008
Initial Resources for Developing High-Performing Public Charter Schools in Alabama:
State Level:
Measuring up to the Model: A Tool for Comparing State Charter School Laws
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
A New Model Law for Supporting the Growth of High-Quality Public Charter Schools
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
June 2009
System and School Level:
Thinking Outside of the Charter Funding Box: Leveraging partnerships, programming, and creativity to secure grants. (.pdf)
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Kristin Yochum, John Bray, Irasema Salcido
June 2011
Issue Brief – How Do Charter Schools Get the Teachers They Want? (.pdf)
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Betheny Gross, Michael DeArmond – Center on Reinventing Public Education
March 2011
Free to Lead: Autonomy in Highly Successful Charter Schools
Public Impact
Joe Ableidinger, Bryan C. Hassel
April 2010
The Answer Key: How to Plan, Develop and Finance Your Charter School Facility
NCB Development Corporation
February 2010
