A charter school is a public school operated by a group of parents, educators and/or community leaders as a semi-autonomous school of choice governed by a contract between the members of the charter school community and the authorizer, either the local board of education or the Colorado Charter School Institute.

For more information on charter schools in Colorado, visit the Colorado Department of Education website.

Facts About Charter Schools

According to the Colorado League of Charter Schools:

• Charter Schools are free, public schools of choice.
• Charter Schools spend, on average, 15% of their per pupil operating dollars for their facilities. School districts finance their facilities using property tax, mill levies and taxpayer-backed bonds. Charter schools do not receive a proportionate share of these monies. As a result, money comes out of the charter school classroom to pay for buildings.
• “Over time, charter schools have performed as well or slightly better than non-charter schools in raising student test scores in the 4th, 8th and 10th grades."
• Public charter school students must take the CSAP.
• Public charter schools are subject to the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
  
• Public charter school teachers must be “highly qualified” under NCLB.
• Public charter schools serve a broad diversity of students including low-income students, ethnic minorities, and students with disabilities or other special needs.
• In Colorado, there are 141 public charter schools, serving more than 56,000 students (almost 7% of all public school students).
• Forty-eight Colorado school districts have approved charter schools, including 3 online charter schools.
• There is demand for more charter schools. Over 41,000 students are on waitlists to enter charter schools.