A new annual report shows North Carolina charter schools are becoming more diverse, but traditional public school districts are still serving more high-need students.
"In 2010, charter schools primarily served white and Black students, and by 2024, this has shifted to a much more diverse student body," said Ashley Baquero with the Office of Charter Schools in a presentation to the State Board of Education Thursday.
The latest annual charter school report found that the share of charter school students who are white, Asian, or two or more races has become more similar to the population in traditional public schools over the past 15 years. The share of Black students at charter schools has remained stable for years.
The report credits weighted lotteries at charter schools and grant programs for helping make charter schools accessible to more students and more diverse.
Charter school advocates have praised the findings in the new report. In a press release, Dave Machado, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools, said that charter school critics have used the racial compositions of the charter school student population as a "political bludgeon against charter schools and the children they serve," adding that hopefully the report will put that to rest.
Disparities for high-need students and some racial groups still remain
Some racial disparities between charter schools and traditional public schools remain. White students are still slightly over-represented in charter schools. The greatest ethnic disparity is among Hispanic students, who are under-represented in charter schools.
Baquero said there's no clear data on why Hispanic students are less likely to attend charter schools, but education officials can make some guesses:
"Problems with language barriers, making sure that applications and information is available in Spanish," Baquero listed off. "The geographic range of charter schools might be different relative to Hispanic communities, there can be cultural factors and a lack of knowledge about, you know, charter and choice options."
High-need populations of students, including those with disabilities, English language learners and economically disadvantaged students are all more concentrated in traditional public schools - although some of those gaps compared to charter schools are closing too.
Here are a few other takeaways from the annual charter school report:
- The number of charter schools in North Carolina has doubled since the General Assembly lifted a cap in 2010 that previously limited the state to no more than 100 charter schools.
- The percentage of North Carolina charter schools deemed low-performing based on state tests is similar to, and slightly lower, than the percentage of low-performing schools in school districts in recent years.
- The total number of North Carolina students attending charter schools has risen to more than 150,000. If that population were a school district, it would be the second largest school district in the state after Wake County Schools.
