School Choices Shift: Charter Schools Gain, Traditional Ones Lose

Nevada's school landscape is changing. More families are choosing charter schools. This shift is causing a drop in enrollment in traditional public schools. The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority saw a big jump. Their enrollment went up by 10. 9% this year. This includes six schools that moved from Clark County School District (CCSD) to them. Even without these schools, their growth was still strong at 2. 3%. Meanwhile, CCSD lost over 14, 000 students. Their enrollment dropped by 4. 7%. Washoe County School District also saw a small decline. Their enrollment went down by just under 1%. These two districts, along with the Charter School Authority, educate about 90% of Nevada's public school students. Rural districts also saw changes. Most lost students, but a few grew. Storey County School District added 16 students, a 4% increase. Nye County stayed almost the same. Many factors are at play here. Charter schools are growing. The nation's birth rate is declining. More families are choosing homeschooling.CCSD is still the largest district. They enroll 62% of public school students. But the Charter School Authority is now the second largest. They surpass Washoe County by nearly 7, 000 students. Charter schools have been growing faster than Washoe County for a decade. Charter schools are also becoming more diverse. Black students now make up 12. 7% of charter school enrollment. This is close to the statewide percentage of 12. 4%. However, charter schools have fewer English learners, students with IEPs, and students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Official enrollment counts happen each October. These numbers are important for funding and reporting. Private school enrollment is counted separately. Over 22, 000 students are in private schools. Homeschooling numbers are not tracked statewide.