School Choices Shift: Charter Schools Gain, Traditional Ones Lose

Changing Enrollment Trends

• Charter Schools on the Rise
• Enrollment up by 10.9% this year
• Includes 6 schools moving from Clark County School District (CCSD) to the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority

• Even without these schools, growth was 2.3%

• Traditional Schools See Decline
• CCSD lost over 14,000 students, a 4.7% drop
• Washoe County School District saw a 1% decline
• Together with the Charter School Authority, these districts educate about 90% of Nevada's public school students

Rural Districts: Mixed Results

• Storey County School District
• Added 16 students, a 4% increase
• Nye County
• Enrollment remained almost the same

Factors Influencing the Shift

• Growth of Charter Schools
• Declining Birth Rate
• Increase in Homeschooling

Charter Schools: Bigger and More Diverse

• Size and Growth
• CCSD remains the largest district with 62% of public school students
• Charter School Authority is now the second largest, surpassing Washoe County by nearly 7,000 students

• Charter schools have grown faster than Washoe County for a decade

• Diversity in Charter Schools
• Black students make up 12.7% of charter school enrollment, close to the statewide percentage of 12.4%
• Charter schools have fewer:
• English learners
• Students with IEPs
• Students qualifying for free or reduced lunch

Enrollment Counts and Private Schools

• Official enrollment counts happen each October
• These numbers are crucial for funding and reporting
• Private school enrollment is counted separately, with over 22,000 students
• Homeschooling numbers are not tracked statewide