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Charter schools in Texas are tuition-free, publicly funded schools, most of which are run by nonprofit corporations.
Texas charter schools operate under statewide academic and financial accounting standards, but differ from public school districts in their governance, pedagogy, and financing.
Each charter school operates under a contract with the state’s authorizing office, which is housed within the Texas Education Agency, or with a local school district.
Charter schools enrolled 443,000 students in 2021-22, accounting for 8.2% of the state public school population, according to TEA data. 377,000 students enrolled at state-authorized charters, and 65,000 enrolled at district-authorized charters.
Admission and Enrollment
Enrolling a child in a Texas charter school is a two-step process: application for admission and then enrollment in the charter school. Application for admission is completed using the statewide common admission application, known as the Charter Student Admission Application (CSAA).
At the conclusion of the admission window, if more students have applied to the charter school than can be accommodated, a charter school must allocate spaces through a lottery process or fill available positions in the order in which applications were received.
Once students are selected for the available positions, the enrollment process begins. If the parent/guardian accepts the available position, schools may request additional information including the student’s health records, academic records, verification of address, and in some instances, discipline records.
A charter school’s admissions policy may not discriminate against students on the basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, academic, artistic, or athletic ability, or the independent school district the child would otherwise attend. However, students enrolled in a charter school must live in the approved geographic boundary of the school.
Funding of Charter Schools
Texas charter schools receive state funding based on the number of students who attend the school. Under Texas law, all students are entitled to a basic allotment to fund their public education. In the 2019-20 school year, this basic allotment was $6,160. The law then provides for additional funding allotments, most of which account for the extra resources and effort required to support “special populations” such as low income students, students with disabilities, and English language learners.
Unlike independent school districts, which are funded in part by local property taxes, charter schools receive no local tax dollars and are entirely funded by the state. On average, charter schools receive less funding per pupil than ISDs, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. However, this varies by school, with charter schools that serve more high-needs students sometimes receiving more funding per-pupil than nearby ISD schools.
Governance of Charter Schools
Unlike the independent school districts, which are governed by elected trustees, charter schools are governed by appointed nonprofit boards. Like ISD board meetings, charter school board meetings must be open to the public.
Charter school board members are not paid and cannot have a financial stake in a charter school management company. Charter school boards are separate from the boards of management organizations.
