An analysis of Minnesota school data finds enrollment growth in charter schools is slowing statewide after years of rapid increases.
The analysis from the Center for School Change, in St. Paul, Minn., found enrollment in those independently operated public schools rose by an average of 5.5 percent annually in the past two years, the lowest growth rate in more than a decade.
Charter enrollment quadrupled over the past decade, a period when enrollment in Minnesota’s regular public schools fell 5 percent. The state’s regular schools still have many more students, about 786,000 compared with charter schools’ 39,000.
The nation’s first charter school was founded in Minnesota 20 years ago.
