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Public charter schools are unique public schools that foster innovative approaches to solving some of today's most difficult educational challenges. Free from many of the constraints that traditional schools face, the charter school movement has been a leader in innovation, school choice, and education reform for more than 25 years. At the same time, charter schools are held accountable for advancing student achievement by the communities and states they serve. The unique combination of innovation and accountability have allowed charter schools to demonstrate that all children are capable of academic achievement that prepares them to succeed in college, their career, and their life. Because charter schools have a successful track record of meeting students' specific needs, parental demand for them remains high. In fact, a 2016 survey commissioned by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools shows that 78 percent of parents support a new charter school opening in their neighborhood. This report identifies communities that have the highest percentage and the highest number of students enrolled in charter schools. The National Alliance collected public school enrollment data from 2017-18 to identify communities across the country where the highest proportions of students were enrolled in charter schools. To calculate these proportions, charter schools were mapped to geographic school district boundaries based on their address. This report compares the enrollment of charter schools located within geographic school district boundaries with district-run schools in the same area, resulting in "enrollment share." [For "A Growing Movement: America's Largest Public Charter School Communities. Twelfth Annual Edition," see ED581544.]

Unified enrollment systems have become increasingly popular because they facilitate public school choice, streamline burdensome application processes, and ideally increase equity, but there are pros and cons to these systems for charter schools and in general. Our report, "Unified Enrollment: Lessons Learned from Across the Country," provides an overview of how these systems have been designed and implemented in six public school districts and reviews the available outcome related research.

Public charter schools are unique public schools that are allowed the freedom to be innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Over the past ten years, enrollment in charter schools has nearly tripled--from 1.2 million students in 2006-07 to more than 3 million students in 2016-17. The number of school districts with a significant charter school presence continues to grow. In 2016-17, 19 districts had 30 percent or more of their students enrolled in charter schools, and 208 districts had at least 10 percent of their students enrolled in charter schools. In 2016-17, nearly 10 million public school students, or one in five, attended school in a district with at least 10,000 students in which 10 percent or more were enrolled in charter schools. This report identifies communities that have the highest percentage and the highest number of students enrolled in charter schools. When families have public school choice, they increasingly select charter schools over district-run schools. In fact, a recent survey by Phi Delta Kappan (PDK) found that 17 percent of parents would send their child to a charter school if location and capacity were not an issue--meaning that the potential number of charter school students is nearly 9 million. In addition, a 2016 survey commissioned by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (National Alliance) shows that 78 percent of parents would support a new charter school opening in their neighborhood. The National Alliance collected public school enrollment data for the 2016-17 school year to identify communities across the country where the highest proportions of students were enrolled in charter schools. To calculate these proportions, charter schools were mapped to geographic school district boundaries based on their address. This report compares the enrollment of charter schools located within geographic school district boundaries with district-run schools in the same area--resulting in "enrollment share."

The information contained in this report is based on data collected from the Charter School Facilities Survey in Louisiana during the 2017-18 school year. The Charter School Facilities Survey consists of 55 base questions which are used in every participating state, with an option for participating states to include 15 additional state-specific questions that capture the local charter school facilities context. The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) added 15 additional custom questions on facilities issues specific to Louisiana. Topics addressed in the survey include the following: waiting lists and future facility plans; facility ownership and co-location; facility amenities and instructional spaces; facility condition and security; and facility funding and expenditures. The Charter School Facilities Initiative (CSFI) team identified 146 brick and mortar Louisiana charter school facilities that were eligible to participate in the survey. The survey was sent electronically to the school leaders at all eligible charter schools. Survey data was collected between March and April of 2018. School leaders at 103 eligible charter school facilities completed the Charter School Facilities survey. In addition to the data collected in the survey, the League also collected additional data on school enrollment, student demographics, and school funding from the Louisiana Department of Education. Key findings include: (1) Charter schools in the Orleans Parish operate more frequently in district facilities than charter schools outside of the Orleans Parish; (2) Charter schools that operate in district facilities pay less for rent than schools that operate in facilities owned by other types of organizations; (3) Many Louisiana charter schools lack the technology, facility amenities, and specialized instructional spaces they require to best implement their educational program; (4) Charter schools in Louisiana are planning on increasing student enrollment over the next five years, but over half of these charter schools do not have adequate space in their current facility for additional students; and (5) There are underutilized or vacant district facilities throughout Louisiana. From a legislative priority perspective, there are several possible solutions Louisiana may consider adopting to help mitigate the facilities challenges that exist in many parishes: (1) Fund the Charter School Start-Up Fund or create a state grant or loan program for charter school facilities: (2) Pass a requirement for districts to provide school district space or funding to charter schools if the majority of that school's students reside in that district; (3) Create a per-pupil facilities allowance that annually reflects average district capital costs; (4) Pledging the moral obligation of the state to help charter schools obtain more favorable bond financing terms. [This report was prepared on behalf of the Louisiana Association for Public Charter Schools.]