For the first time, school districts are no longer granting the most new charters, says a new report by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
The group analyzed school opening data from all states with charter schools and the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2016. In 2013, school districts approved 56 percent of all new charter schools, or 357 new campuses. By 2016, that percentage dropped to 41 percent, or 135 new campuses. State education agencies and independent charter boards—special agencies whose sole task is to oversee charter schools statewide—have taken the lead for approving the most new charter schools.