Nationwide, 355 charter schools opened their doors for the first time this fall, with Arizona, California, and Florida having the most new charters, according to survey results from a pro-charter research and advocacy group.
The new schools are educating at least 100,000 students, said the analysis by the Washington-based Center for Education Reform. The group pegs the total number of the autonomous public schools at 4,568, based on its annual survey. Total enrollment in charter schools nationwide is 1.34 million, the group said.
Since 2002, 562 charter schools have closed, the center said, with 29 closing since the start of the 2007-08 academic year.
“Nationwide, the options available to parents demanding better schools for our children are growing, despite continued opposition and restrictive legislation in states,” the center’s president, Jeanne Allen, said in an Oct. 23 press release.
