Though they reap the financial and institutional benefits of the school system, they are not subject to any of its rules or restrictions. Charters have almost total autonomy over curricula, schedules, rules and classroom environments. Theoretically, this freedom allows charters to provide innovative and specialized education to children failing in traditional classrooms. For parents frustrated by standard curricula, charters offer an opportunity to try a different approach without shouldering the burden of private school tuition. Duval County School Board member Linda Sparks has received numerous complaints from parents of charter school kids alleging everything from schools without textbooks to unqualified students being promoted to charters that don't hold school on Fridays.
Charters are nonetheless public schools, subsisting on public school dollars.
Because there has been little evidence that charters are making academic strides, public schools feel they are being destabilized by a dangerous experiment. But complaints by public schools, America's prevailing scapegoat, have done little to slow the growth of charters. According to a study released in February by President Clinton, the number of public charter schools jumped 40 percent between 1998-99. Like other school districts, the Duval County School Board has never been an ally of charters. But neither has it been especially adversarial.