California Continues To Lead Nation In Charter School Growth
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new study shows that California continues to far outpace the rest of the nation in charter school enrollment and growth.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools reported Wednesday that 87 new charter schools opened in California this school year, more than in any other state. The new schools bring the total number of charter institutions to 1,184. The states with the next highest number of charter schools, Florida and Arizona, have 653 and 623 each.
Charter schools are independently run public schools often started by community groups that operate under agreements with local or state education agencies giving them more latitude in staffing and course decisions.
The charter school alliance estimates that California's charter schools are serving 547,800 students this year. That's almost twice as many as in Florida, the state with the next largest charter school enrollment.
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