Charter school enrollment in the Sunshine State increased by 20,013 students in the 2021-22 school year according to data released by the Florida Department of Education.
More than 360,000 students enrolled in one of 703 charter schools, a growth of 5.8% over the prior year.
Unlike private schools, which suffered the first enrollment declines in a decade during the COVID-19 pandemic, charter schools, which are privately run tuition-free public schools, never saw a dip during that time, growing by 3.8% in the first year of the pandemic while home education grew by 35.2%.
The Department reports that of the 51% of charter school students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, 45.1% are Hispanic, 29.6% are white, and 18.8% are Black.
Like district-run public schools, charters are subject to state A-F grades. Forty-five percent of charter schools earned an “A” grade, 32% earned a “B,” and 26% earned a “C”. Only eight schools earned an “F” grade.
Unlike district-run public schools, charters can be shut down for consecutive “F” grades.
In 2021, 80 organizations applied to start a new charter school. Only 51.3% of those applications were approved according to Department. Charter schools are approved by their competing school districts but may appeal to the State Board of Education.
