Texas added 52 new public charter schools and 36,000 students statewide this school year, fourth most in the nation.
A report released Wednesday by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools shows that 600 new public charter schools opened nationwide in 2013-2014, with about 288,000 students.
That means more than 2.5 million students now attend nearly 6,500 public charter schools nationwide. The report said overall charter school enrollment across the U.S. has jumped 225 percent over the last decade.
The Texas Charter Schools Association said that, despite the added enrollment, 100,000-plus students statewide remain on waitlists for charter schools too full to accept them.
Last year, the Texas Legislature raised the state's cap on the number of licenses issued to operate charter schools from 215 to 305 by Sept., 2019.
