As district-run public schools lose enrollment -- 1.5 million students since 2019 -- charter schools are adding students, according to a report by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, writes Debbie Veney. Charter enrollment grew by more than 300,000 students, an increase of 9 percent, from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
Most of the students who left district schools have opted out of public education, choosing homeschooling, microschools and private schools.
Charter enrollment gains were driven by a surge in Latino students. District schools primarily lost white students.
In a 2022 survey, "parents chose to send their children to public charter schools because they provided a higher-quality instruction (54%), smaller school and class sizes (47%) and better safety (47%) than district schools," write Veney. Eighty-six percent of parents said they want "options for tfor their children other than their assigned district school."