This issue summarizes the development and impact of charter schools. It examines aspects of laws that have paved the way for charter schools and describes some of the litigation that has accompanied the charter-school phenomenon. The text offers practical advice on how to draft good charter-school contracts and notes some of the past and ongoing research that addresses the questions of whether charter schools have been able to deliver what proponents promised and what school children need in order to receive the type of education that they deserve. The text opens with a breakdown of states with charter-school legislation and the year that these laws were passed. During the 1990s, 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico enacted legislation enabling charter schools. Most of the document is devoted to information charts on charter schools. This information, categorized by state, includes synopses of eligible applicants for charter-school status, relation of charter schools to the school system, the organizational status of the charter schools in the state, the authority as regards charter-school employees, and the finance provisions for the state's charter schools. Brief overviews of charter-school litigation are presented after the charts, followed by issues and checklists for the charter-school contract. (RJM)