USA school law. Is a charter school a public school?
<p>I am trying to understand the main, basic tenets of USA public vs. private school law. (See <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/91556/usa-private-school-law-could-disrespect-of-state-regulation-be-constructed-as-a/9155">my previous question</a> of a series).</p>
<p>Is a charter school a public school?</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_school" rel="nofollow noreferrer">I see</a> that there is  debate on whether charter schools should be described as private schools or state (hence, public) schools.</p>
<p>So my question is, by which general criteria could I decide whether a charter school has to be considered public?</p>
<p>Also, in the case that they are not to be considered public, is the relationship student/school a contractual one?</p>

<p>Each state has its own system of designating different kinds of schools, but the term &quot;charter school&quot; generally refers to a public school that is subject to less central administrative supervision than an ordinary public school.</p>
<p>But the relationship between a student and a school in a charter school, unlike a private school, is not primarily contractual in nature. The charter school has a contractual relationship with the school district (of which the students may sometimes be third-party beneficiaries), but the student does not have a contractual relationship with the school.</p>

<p>In Washington, <a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.150&amp;full=true" rel="noreferrer">RCW 28A.150.010</a> answers the question as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Public schools means the common schools as referred to in <a href="https://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Documents/WAConstitution.pdf" rel="noreferrer">Article IX
of the state Constitution</a>, charter schools established under chapter
<a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.710" rel="noreferrer">28A.710 RCW</a>, and those schools and institutions of learning having a
curriculum below the college or university level as now or may be
established by law and maintained at public expense.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, yes, they are &quot;public schools&quot;.</p>
<p>The question of whether a school is &quot;considered private&quot; is likely to mislead a person investigating laws regarding schools, because law &quot;deem&quot; or &quot;declare&quot;, but also do so in specific ways and for specific purposes. The primary consideration underlying charter schools is the fact that the states have all assign to themselves the duty to provide &quot;free public education&quot;, which is built into state constitutions. The Washington Constitution says &quot;The legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of public schools&quot;, and it also mentions &quot;common schools&quot;, whereas Delaware's Constitution does not mention &quot;common schools&quot;. Nobody's constitution spells out explicitly what a &quot;public school&quot; is – that's where specific laws come into play. By defining charter schools to be a kind of public school, the legislature has brought those schools within the scope of the state's duty, in a manner that does not exist for e.g. Catholic schools.</p>
<p>There are states (e.g. North Dakota) that don't have charter schools at all. Among the states that do have such schools, the very concept presupposes access to public funds (in North Dakota, would-be charter schools are simply 'private schools'). It is not essential that a legislature declare a charter school to be a public school (as opposed to a common school), what is essential is providing public funding, and <em>some</em> level of government oversight.</p>

school-law