Charter School Highlights and Statistics

        As of January 2003, nearly 2,700 charter schools are operating in 36 states and the District of Columbia, serving over 684,000 students. CER has graded the country's 40 charter school laws, ranking them from A to F (click here to see the latest grades and rankings). 

Charter School States That Have Strong to Medium Strength Laws (Grades A-B):
Arizona (1994), California (1992), Colorado (1993), Delaware (1995), District of Columbia (1996), Florida (1996), Indiana (2001), Massachusetts (1993), Michigan (1993), Minnesota (1991), Missouri (1998), New Jersey (1996), New Mexico (1993), New York (1998), North Carolina (1996), Ohio (1997), Oregon (1999), Pennsylvania (1997), Texas (1995), Wisconsin (1993).

Charter School States That Have Weak Laws (Grades C-F):
Alaska (1995), Arkansas (1995), Connecticut (1996), Georgia (1993), Hawaii (1994), Idaho (1998), Illinois (1996), Iowa (2002), Kansas (1994), Louisiana (1995), Mississippi (1997), Nevada (1997), New Hampshire (1995),  Oklahoma (1999), Rhode Island (1995), South Carolina (1996), Tennessee (2002), Utah (1998), Virginia (1998), Wyoming (1995). 
Link to: Full Charter School Law Analysis.

Charter Schools in Operation, Fall 2002:

For more information, see CER's overview of current charter school laws, including state-by-state rankings of charter school laws. You can also link to information about each state via the hyperlinks on the chart above or CER's charter school map.

This page updated January 30, 2004.

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