L.A. Unified leads nation by far in number of charter school students
The Los Angeles Unified School District continues to have more charter school students than any school system in the country, according to the latest data released by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
L.A. Unified, with about 68,500 students in charter schools last year, was well ahead of the No. 2 district, the Detroit Public Schools, which has about 50,000 students in charters. Overall, about 10% of L.A. Unified students attend charters.
Charters are free, publicly funded schools operated by nonprofits and private companies. They continue to grow in number and are a key element in the school-reform strategy of President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, as they were in the previous administration of George W. Bush. Charter schools are typically free from many regulations that govern traditional schools; most in California are nonunion.
Overall, charters enroll about 3.2% of U.S. public school students, with wide variations from state to
