A magnet school is a public school which offers specialize courses or curricula. The term magnet school is mostly associated with the United States, although other countries have similar types of schools (such as UK specialist schools). The use of the word magnet refers to magnet schools drawing students from across normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school zones that feed into certain schools. The school which a student would attend if he were not attending the magnet school is often referred to as the home school (not to be confused with homeschooling, an entirely different concept) or the base school.