FACT: Charter schools are public schools. Like traditional public schools, charter schools are:

• Tuition-Free for families
• Publicly funded
• Non-sectarian
• Nondiscriminatory enrollment
• Accountable to state and federal regulations
• Governed by a Board of Directors who are public officials

FACT: Charter schools do not take funding away from traditional public schools.

Money follows the student from their home school district to a public charter school when a parent makes a choice for their child’s public-school education to take place in a charter school.

FACT: Charter schools serve all students.

• Charter schools have no selective enrollment requirements.
• Charter schools must accept all students, including English learners and students with special needs.
• They hold lotteries to enroll students if there are not enough seats to meet demand.

FACT: Charter schools are directly accountable to the authorizing school board or the Pennsylvania Department of Education who have the authority to renew or not renew a school’s charter.

Once appointed, a charter school board member, just like a traditional school board member, is a public official who must comply with the PA Ethics Act and file an annual statement of Financial Interest Form. Also, the board must comply with the PA Sunshine Law regarding open meetings.

FACT: Charter schools in Pennsylvania are very diversified. In fact, charter schools serve higher percentages of African American and Hispanic students than district-run schools. 

FACT: Charter schools are the most accountable public-school systems in Pennsylvania with the threat of closure as the ultimate accountability. 

Both traditional district and charter schools have:

• State exams
• Periodic review
• Financial audits
• Annual reporting

Charter schools also have:

• Closure process
• Parental choice

FACT: Most Pennsylvania charter schools — including Gillingham Charter School — are organized as public, non-profit corporations.

FACT: Charter schools receive less funding than traditional public schools.

In the 2015-16 school year, charter schools across Pennsylvania received approximately 75% of the funding that traditional public schools received. This means that charter schools operate with less public funding than traditional public schools.

FACT: Charter schools enroll a similar ratio of special education students as public schools.

In the 2016-17 school year, 17.61% of charter school enrollment was special education students, while traditional schools had enrollment of 16.37% special education students.