Florida experienced a 5% increase in charter school enrollment in the 2022-23 school year and 67% in the last decade.
December 12, 2023 — According to state-level data analyzed by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in a new report, Believing in Public Education: A Demographic and State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends, for the 2022-23 school year, Florida’s public charter school enrollment grew by 5.6 percent. Charter schools have been a quality educational option for families since 1996. There are currently 726 charter schools in Florida serving more than 382,000 students.
Nationally, enrollment in public charter schools increased by 2%, or more than 72,000 students, from the 2021-22 school year to the 2022-23 school year. By contrast, district-run public school enrollment increased by .02% or 7,400 students. Over the past four years, public charter schools gained more than 300,000 students (9% increase). Meanwhile, district public schools have been unable to recover the 1.5 million students they lost during the pandemic (3.5% loss). In Florida, over the past four year, public charter schools gained more than 53,000 students (16% increase).
“The charter school movement is a student-centered movement. Open to all students, charter schools eliminated the need to use a zip code to match a student to a school and empowered parents to be the driving force in selected an educational program that best meets the needs and talents of their child and family,” said Lynn Norman-Teck, FCSA executive director and charter school parent. “For 27 years, families have been taking advantage of the wide-range of quality charter schools available to them — from urban to rural campuses, programs specializing in exceptional students or drop-off prevention to unique classical curriculum, and college-prep programs in high-need areas. While charter schools may vary in their curriculum delivery and focus, all have a common thread – a steadfast commitment to raising the bar on public education and providing a quality education option to the children and communities they serve.”
Report Highlights:
- Nearly every state gained charter students since 2019-20.
- Over the past four years, 40 of 42 states included in this analysis saw an increase of students enrolling in charter schools.
- These enrollment increases range from 35 students in Virginia and Wyoming to 67,148 students in Texas.
- Sectors vary in size, so it’s important to look at the percentage change, where we see a range as well: from a 0.29% increase in Massachusetts to a 94.7% increase in Iowa.
- Conversely, all other public schools (non-charters) lost students in nearly every state. While Idaho and Utah saw enrollment increases of 2,660 and 6,642, respectively, almost every other state saw enrollment losses in the public non-charter sector.
- Over the past four school years, enrollment in charter schools increased by 8.24%, or more than 4,000 students, while enrollment in district schools declined.
- Florida has long enjoyed a strong charter school sector. Over the past four year, public charter schools in our state gained more than 53,000 students (16% increase) and 67% increase in the last decade (2013-2023).
- Charter school enrollment isn’t the only thing on the rise—we’ve also seen an impressive number of legislative gains over the past four years. Charter school advocates have continued their work in statehouses across the country, making progress in red, blue, and purple states, oftentimes in ways that showed that, despite heavy politicization, bipartisan support for charter schools remains firmly in place.
Demographic Highlights
- The report examines data for White, Black, and Hispanic students in 26 of 42 states included in our analysis. All three groups are continuing to choose charter schools—and, in some cases, charter school enrollment growth is even outpacing expected numbers based on population growth trends.
- In 2022-23, 71% of the students served in Florida charter schools were minorities.
- Nationwide, Hispanic students account for half of charter school enrollment growth and are the fastest-growing community in charter schools, increasing by almost 14% since 2019. Charter school enrollment for Black students has continued to grow. Most states, 18 of 26 studied, gained Black students in the charter sector—a total of 40,658 students, or 6.26%.
Click here to read the Believint in Public Education enrollment report.