Parents researching high schools for their children might come across a charter school as one of their options, as Gustavo Gonzalez did when looking into schools for his daughter Katia.

Katia is now a tenth-grader at KIPP San Jose Collegiate, a California charter school, which Gonzalez says he chose for several reasons, including its smaller class sizes.

[Learn about 10 factors to consider when picking your child’s high school.]

“Going to a large, comprehensive high school wouldn’t have worked for her because of who she is and her personality,” he says.

But what is a charter high school?

There are about 7,000 charter schools in the U.S. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, charter schools made up around 7 percent of all public schools in 2015-2016, and around 35 percent of charter schools served students in grades 9-12.

Charters have more freedom than traditional public high schools to do things differently — they are exempt from some or most state and local regulations that affect public schools. The idea is that this autonomy will allow for more innovation in education, experts say.

Three big areas where charter schools have increased decision-making power are curriculum, staff and budget, according to the National Charter School Resource Center, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Education. In exchange, charters must meet certain performance standards.

Charter high schools are publicly funded and do not charge tuition.

But even though they receive taxpayer money, these schools are privately managed. Most — but not all — organizations that operate charter schools are nonprofits, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. About 15 percent are run by for-profit management companies, according to the organization.

Though there are federal standards that charter schools have to meet, many of the laws governing them vary from state to state, says Amanda Fenton, director of state and federal policy at the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, a professional organization for the entities that approve new and oversee existing charter schools.

Enrollment

Traditionally, public high school enrollment is determined by where a student lives. This is not the case for most charter schools.

[Consider these different types of public high schools for your teen.]

Conor Williams, senior researcher in the Education Policy program at think tank New America, says one the great strengths of charter schools is that most are open to students outside the immediate neighborhood.

“They are schools of choice,” he says, “meaning, unlike a district school, a neighborhood school, you cannot purchase a house that will give you automatic access to the charter school.”

For example, students at Signature School, a charter high school in Evansville, Indiana, come from 33 different middle schools across four counties, says Jean Hitchcock, the school’s executive director.

To attend a charter school, students and parents must fill out an application. If more students apply than a school has spots, the school will hold a lottery to determine who can enroll.

Student Experience

There is no one type of educational experience that students have at charter high schools.

Some charter high schools focus on particular subject areas, such as the liberal arts. Others may be more generally focused on rigorous college prep, says Russ Simnick, senior director for state advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

“You’ll always see a particular culture in a charter high school,” says Simnick. An example he gives is Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School in Indianapolis, where the school’s motto, “College or Die,” is painted in large letters in the main hallway.

[See the top 100 high schools in the nation.]

Some other aspects of high school life might be different at a charter high school.

For instance, at Signature School, there’s no cafeteria. Students bring a packed lunch or get food at a nearby restaurant, says Hitchcock.

Also, some charter high schools don’t have buses, Simnick says, so students will need to find another way to get to class. Some schools in urban areas address this by giving students passes for public transportation, he says.

Another difference is that charter high schools don’t always offer a lot of sports teams, experts say.

Hitchcock says it’s important for parents to consider whether the mission and atmosphere of a particular charter school will be a good fit for their child.

“We always say, ‘We want this to be a good match,'” she says. “We don’t say, ‘It’s the school for everybody.'”

Check out the High School Notes blog for a snapshot of what’s going on in U.S. high school classrooms.

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What to Know About Charter High Schools originally appeared on usnews.com