Charter schools are exempt from most laws governing school districts and it is up to states to set laws regarding their governance, oversight, and policies. California requires charter schools to participate in statewide assessment tests and to be nonsectarian in admission policies, employment practices, and programs. It's against the law for private schools to convert to public charter schools and charter schools may not discriminate against students or charge tuition.
California charter schools are a significant educational force. In the spring of 2009, the Department of Education reported that there were 750 active charter schools serving 255,000 students. California has 58 counties, and 51 of them have charter schools. Los Angeles County alone has 204 schools. Statewide, that adds up to one in 20 schools being classified as a charter school. Studies from the Hoover Institute at Stanford (2003) indicate that student achievement among high-risk students attending charter schools is improving faster than in non-charter public schools.
The California Department of Education maintains a website that lists all the charter schools in the state and whether they are active, have been abandoned or closed, or had their charter revoked. While the schools are listed alphabetically, they can also be sorted by number, name, county or district. The site gives a comprehensive view of individual schools by including the instruction type, curriculum focus, funding model, grade levels served, starting date, business structure and enrollment. It also lists the school's address, email, phone number and website.
California charter schools are required to take part in an annual standardized testing and reporting (STAR) program that's administered to every public school in the state. Each year, the California Department of Education issues a report on the status of every public school's progress. The three main components of this report are the Academic Performance Index, Adequate Yearly Progress and Program Improvement. For a complete report on charter schools visit the Parent and Guardian Guide on the California Department of Education's website.