Charter schools are public schools that operate independently according to the terms of a five-year performance contract or "charter." Charter schools commit to meet specific goals for academic performance and their charter can be revoked if agreed-upon results are not attained.

Like all publicly funded schools, charter schools must meet Regents requirements and state laws for health, safety, civil rights and student assessment. In addition, charter schools must accept all students and cannot discriminate in their admission policy.

Charter schools provide an innovative alternative to conventional NYC public schools. With their high degree of autonomy, performance-based education models and strict accountability, charter schools:

• enable teachers to be more creative and innovative in their teaching methods, length of school day and year, and subject matter;
• provide an added education resource in areas underserved by public schools;
• tend to be smaller in overall student body for more personalized attention;
• allow parents to choose a school based on what they think will work best for their children; and
• are held accountable for meeting and exceeding academic, operational, and fiduciary goals.

Charter schools can be started by educators, parents, community leaders and not-for profit organizations, and are approved only after a rigorous review process. Once schools open, they are governed by a not-for-profit board of trustees. They are exempt from many state and local regulations regarding curriculum development, personnel hiring and financial management, but must succeed in meeting or exceeding the goals established for their academic programs.

Each spring charter schools accept applications and hold a lottery where applicants are selected at random to attend. After the requisite number of students for each grade are selected, the remaining applicants are placed on a wait list according to the order in which their names were called. Students living in the same community school district (CSD) of the charter school are given preference in the lottery process. Click here to find your CSD and nearby charter schools.

Charter schools are one of the fastest growing innovations in education and are supported on the city, state and federal government level. The first charter school was established in Minnesota in 1991. The first charter school in New York state opened in 1999.

Each charter school receives state funding for each student it educates. For the 2008-2009 school year, the per pupil allocation (PPA) for charter schools in New York State is $12,432. In addition to the PPA, several state and federal grants are available, and charter schools are welcome to fundraise from private sources as well. Charter schools do not receive any city, state, or federal funding for facilities.

There are nearly 4,000 charter schools serving 1.6 million students in 40 states and Washington, DC. New York City currently has 78 charter schools serving roughly 24,000 students. At least 20 charter schools have been approved to open in fall 2009. There are an estimated 50,000 students currently on waiting lists to enroll into a NYC public charter school.