Private schools may limit enrollment through an admissions procedure, tuition or both. Private schools need not provide any form of special education, though a few Tucson private schools cater to children with special needs. Charters must offer special-education services. Private schools may be religious in nature and feature everything from daily prayer to Bible study. Charter schools must observe the separation of church and state.
Private schools are accountable to a policy-making body such as a board of directors.
They need not be accredited, but most are. Charter schools are accountable to the state, and their students must take state-mandated tests. Objective, indepedent information on private schools is hard to come by. As for charters, the Arizona Department of Education's Web site contains copies of charter school's report cards and other basic information. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. weekdays through Jan. 31.