Those involved in charters believe that the school has customers and clients and both are accountable to each other. They argue that change in schools is slow and superficial because public schools are locked into a monopoly and meaningful reform is slow or nonexistent. California was the second state to pass legislation allowing charter schools in 1992. Twenty states have now passed similar legislation. Nationwide, the charter school movement is bipartisan.
Charter schools operate under few controls.
They must be nonsectarian, and they cannot charge tuition or discriminate by race, religion, economic means, test scores or athletic ability. Advocates of charters note that they have an abundance of parent and community volunteers as well as teachers who are not necessarily certificated and credentialed. They cite examples of experts and specialists such as a botanist, a Stanford physics professor, a computer scientist, and a retired music professor who are teaching their children without having a credential. Opponents worry that charter schools will suck money away from the schools that need the money most, particularly, those with kids who are doing poorly. They also fear that good teachers will leave a poor school and parents will take their children out and send them to a choice charter school.