It was my understanding from the article that this school participates in the National School Lunch Program (it isn't limited to just public schools); if they do participate, then they are subject to all of the same
requirements as a regular public school.
A charter school is a public school in the sense that they are funded with public monies just like other public schools; however, they are not held to some of the same laws, regulations, and
guidelines as regular public schools.
Particularly important for Brill are the charter schools, such as Harlem Success, that are housed in the same
facilities as regular public schools and score much higher on standardized tests.
The court said charter schools were unconstitutional because they were being funded out of the same pot of
money as regular public schools but without taxpayer control since they're not overseen by elected school boards.
The Schaefer Center report found that charter schools perform at least as
well as regular public schools and even slightly outshine them in some areas.
In California, the study found that charters overall did about the same
as regular public schools, with reading gains more or less balanced by the math deficit.