Archived - Student Racial/Ethnic Composition in Charter Schools

Archived Information

The State of Charter Schools 2000 - Fourth-Year Report, January 2000

C. Students of Charter Schools

Limited English Proficient Students

The percentage of limited English proficient (LEP) students served by charter schools and all public schools was approximately the same; however, the number of LEP students in charter schools and all public schools varied considerably by state. Over the past 3 years, the percentage of LEP students enrolled in charter schools in all charter states has declined as more charter schools have opened in states with lower concentrations of LEP students.

Charter schools (in 1998–99) and all public schools in the 27 charter states (in 1996–97) both served approximately 10 percent limited English proficient (LEP) students.
The percentage of LEP students in charter schools varied widely across states. The states with very low or very high percentages of LEP students in charter schools were also the states with very small or very large numbers of LEP students overall.
In 17 states, charter schools served approximately the same number of LEP students (within 5 percent) as all public schools in those states. Charter schools in three states--Alaska, Colorado, and Florida--served a lower percentage of LEP students than all public schools in those states (by at least 5 percent). In Minnesota and the District of Columbia, charter schools served a higher percentage of LEP students (by at least 5 percent) compared to all public schools in those states.
The percentage of LEP students enrolled in charter schools declined from almost 13 percent in the 1996–97 school year to 10 percent in the 1998–99 school year.

Estimated Number and Percentage of LEP Students in Charter Schools and All Public Schools in the 27 Charter States

NOTE: These data are based on all 975 open charter schools that responded to the survey. Of the 975 schools, 7 schools from 4 states (Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, and Rhode Island) are not displayed in the table because each state has fewer than 3 charter schools which provided information about LEP students and the percentages are not meaningful. The "Total" row includes data from all 27 charter states. For each state, the percentage of LEP students is computed by dividing the number of LEP students by the total number of enrolled students.
SOURCE: Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, Summary Report of the Survey of the States' Limited English Proficient Students and Available Educational Programs and Services 1996–97: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1998.
Estimated Number and Percentage of LEP Students in Charter Schools and All Public Schools

¹ The total excludes data from the state of P ennsylvania, which did not report information on LEP students for all public sch ools.
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C. Students of Charter Schools (Part 4)

D.Starting, Implementing, and Being Accountable