Groups of parents, teachers or community leaders perceiving a gap in the educational market may apply to start a charter school. Aiming to fill that gap, the charter is a contract between the professional start-up body and the State Charter School Board. The schools are publicly funded, open to all students and legally governed by the same federal and state laws as public schools, including laws relating to civil rights, health, safety and employee criminal history checks.
Also known as schools for choice, charter schools are an increasingly popular branch of innovative education policy. Breaking away from the confines of traditional school systems, they give educators an opportunity to try new ways of inspiring students. Proponents say a "whatever it takes" attitude towards enabling students prevails, which can include longer hours or differently-sized classrooms.
Scoring 121 out of a possible 208, Utah dropped in NAPCS charter school law rankings from seventh to tenth in the nation between the 2008/09 and 2009/10 school years. The NAPCS reports that the drop in the rankings is more a product of other states' ambitious improvements than Utah's failures. Positive changes, such as the expansion to including higher education institutions and real steps towards fiscal parity with other public schools are noted in the report. Utah was marked down for not including siblings in their enrollment preference laws, however.
The Utah State Office of Education website has full details of the following eight schools in Davis County:
Baer Canyon High School for Sports and Medical Sciences (Grades 10-12)
Legacy Preparatory Academy (Grades K-10)
North Davis Preparatory Academy (Grades K-9)
Northern Utah Academy for Math, Engineering and Science (Grades 10-12)
Oquirrh Mountain Charter School (Grades K-8)
Spectrum Academy (Grades K-8)
Syracuse Arts Academy (Grades K-8)
Wasatch Peak Academy (Grades K-6)