Charter School Enrollments in Context: An Exploration of Organization and Policy Influences

Abstract

Using the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey Public Charter School Questionnaire (U.S. Department of Education, 2000), this article provides an in-depth description of charter schools in the United States and presents multivariate analyses of the enrollment of low-income and minority students in the population of charter schools, taking into account both school organizational and state policy characteristics. The results suggest that management by for-profit educational management organizations (EMOs) can have both positive and negative effects on low-income and minority enrollment depending on EMO type and urban location. Notable were the strong and significant results on the importance of state policy characteristics in terms of shaping charter school enrollments of low-income and minority students.