Most run three to five years. The private group is given public money to run a public school. In exchange, it agrees to produce specified results. That s the contract, or charter. It s not unlike the distinction our school district makes between the ends set by the School Board and the means for reaching them chosen by the superintendent.
Charter schools can innovate with any means, so long as they reach the ends.
When they don t, the charter can be revoked. Without charter school legislation, the state holds the monopoly. That s why it s called public education. We have no shortage of religious and other private schools. Home schooling is growing.