“No,” Mrs. Schmidt explained. “It’s still public. Free. Paid for by our tax dollars, just like Waukesha North or South. But it has a charter —a special permission slip from the School District of Waukesha.”
Maya turned to her dad. “This is my place.”
Wisconsin was one of the first states to pass charter school legislation in 1997. The state's charter school law allows for the creation of charter schools that operate outside of traditional public school districts. Since then, the number of charter schools in Wisconsin has grown significantly, with over 200 charter schools currently operating in the state.