Charter Enrollment Stable Near 40,000

“The most callused aspect of the (Arkansas) education monopoly is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a better school for their sons and daughters.” Policy Foundation, 1998

(October 30, 2021) Newly-released public records show 39,232 students enrolled in Arkansas conversion and open-enrollment charter schools in the 2021-22 school year. There were 40,512 students enrolled in charters in the 2020-21 school year.

Arkansas Department of Education records show 17,967 students enrolled in district conversion charters this year. A conversion school “is a public school converted to a public charter school. Conversion schools can only draw students from within the school district’s boundaries,” the department notes.

Another 21,265 students are enrolled in open-enrollment charters in the current school year. An open-enrollment charter is operated by “a governmental entity, an institution of higher learning or a tax-exempt non-sectarian organization,” according to the department.

Charter schools have advanced as an idea since Policy Foundation analysts Allyson Tucker and Donna Watson wrote their landmark 1996 study recommending charters. They are a type of public school that is free from certain state regulations.

Following is a list from the department’s website of conversion and open-enrollment charters, along with current school year enrollment counts.

Pine Bluff Elementary                                                                                             153

Pine Bluff Middle School                                                                                          59

Arkansas Virtual Academy

High School                                                                                                         1,444