Last month, fresh charter school numbers had several observers asking: Why are fewer charters opening?

A new report from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers offers some clues. In short, it finds fewer groups are applying to open new schools.

Over the past five years, the approval rate for charter school applications nationwide has hovered right around 35 percent. But the total number of applications has declined.

Why are fewer groups applying to open new charter schools? The authorizers group says that's a question for future research.

“As the sector continues to think through why growth is slowing, our findings suggest figuring out what’s driving the decline in charter applications will be a central part of the answer,” M. Karega Rausch, NACSA's vice president of research and evaluation, said in a press release. “That’s why we think it’s important to dig deeper into the data and find out why fewer applications are being proposed and what’s helping—or hindering—strong applications.” (more…)

In the upcoming legislative session, the Florida Legislature is likely to grapple with an issue that's come up repeatedly in recent years. How can they stop financially shaky charter schools that suddenly shut down, without creating barriers to legitimate schools?

In a recent interview, Rep. Manny Diaz, who chairs a key panel on school choice issues, said lawmakers are looking for ways to make sure upstart charter schools are financially secure.

"You're going to have to have a base of support. You're going to have to have some people involved who can raise some money," he said. "I think that will eliminate a lot of the issues that we've been seeing."

Next week, Florida lawmakers will have their first discussion about reviving some of the charter school and school choice issues that went unresolved during this year's legislative session. Tuesday's meeting of the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee will offer a first look at what's to come when the next legislative session starts in January.

An idea that's been floated in recent years would require new charter schools to secure a $250,000 surety bond or line of credit from a bank. If a school suddenly failed, there would be a financial cushion to ensure taxpayers aren't on the hook. That concept raised concerns among mom-and-pop charter advocates during a meeting of charter school operators and district authorizers in Fort Lauderdale.

"If this was a requirement when we opened 16 years ago, we would have never been able to open, and we have been a high-quality, high-performing school for 14 years," Maritza Aragon, the principal of the Youth Co-Op Preparatory Charter School in Hialeah, said. She added that "$250,000 for a nonprofit — a real, small, beginning nonprofit — is unrealistic."

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Florida continues to score well in an annual ranking of charter school laws in states around the country. It keeps its eighth-in-the-nation ranking in the latest analysis of state charter school laws released by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and its score remains the same after a year in which state charter laws didn't see major changes.

The state gets high marks for not placing caps on the number of charter schools allowed. It also scores well for balancing autonomy and accountability, and for having an appeals process for schools whose applications are rejected.

The report notes two areas where Florida could improve its standing: Funding equity, and authorizer accountability. Constitutional and funding constraints mean making improvements in those areas could require some creativity.

The issue of accountability for charter school authorizers has also been raised by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, a group aiming to improve the quality of charter schools.

The trouble in Florida is that school districts are, by and large, the only game in town when it comes to authorizing (a handful of charter schools are authorized by universities). The state constitution gives school boards the authority to regulate all public schools within their districts, making it harder to create alternative authorizers such as a board run by the state.

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This year, more than 250,000 Florida students are attending charter schools. They now enroll more than one every 11 public-school students in the state. If Florida's charter schools were counted together as a school district, it would be the third-largest in the state and among the 10 largest in the country.

The growth of Florida's charter schools has been so rapid that this year, even as their enrollment has increased by 21,000 students (from 229,428 the year before), it may in some ways be leveling off.

Data from the Department of Education's fall enrollment survey show charter school enrollment increasing by 9 percent this year. That means the 2014-15 school year could be the first since 2007-08 that Florida's charter school enrollment did not grow by double-digit percentage points.

Over the past five years, the number of students enrolled in Florida's charter schools has risen by about 113,000 students. Enrollment in all public schools has increased by 122,000 students during that time (based on state membership data) — meaning that since the state has emerged from the Great Recession, charters have accounted for nearly all the total growth in public schools.

As the graph above shows, this is the first school year in that period when the growth of public schools overall significantly exceeded that of charter schools.

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Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam, not pleased with Republican plans to create a broader voucher program, pulls the plug on his voucher proposal, limited to low-income children from low-performing schools (Associated Press). More from Nashville Public Radio and The Tennessean. The finger pointing begins (Chattanooga Times Free Press). New York Times takes a look at the Achievement School District, which has turned to charters as part of the solution to raise student achievement. A bill to create a statewide charter school authorizer clears a House committee (The Tennessean).

Texas: The House shoots down any attempts to create a voucher or tax credit scholarship program, with dozens of  Republicans joining Democrats in saying no (Dallas Morning News). More from the Houston Chronicle and Texas Tribune. School supporters plan to press ahead with a proposal for tax credit scholarships (Dallas Morning News).

Alabama: Critics say the state's new tax credit scholarship program will subsidize private schools built to resist desegregation (Birmingham News). Democratic legislative leaders say they'll push for a repeal (Birmingham News).

Mississippi: Senate leaders agree to a watered-down charter schools bill to keep it alive (Jackson Clarion Ledger). House members pass a charter bill with no debate (Jackson Clarion Ledger). More from the Associated Press. Both sides later pass the same bill and send it to Gov. Phil Bryant (Education Week).

Florida: More than 1,000 rally for school choice at the Florida Capitol in the first event that brings together parents from magnet, charter, voucher, virtual and home-school sectors (redefinED). Catholic schools buck national trends, seeing the first enrollment growth in five years (redefinED). A parent trigger bill clears its first committee in the state Senate (Orlando Sentinel) and passes the House (Tampa Bay Times). A bill that would allow school districts to create charter-like "innovation schools" also gets okay from the Senate Education Committee (Associated Press). A bill to tighten accountability on charters but allow high-performing ones to grow faster passes the House (Orlando Sentinel). (more…)

Alabama: Gov. Robert Bentley signs the tax credit scholarship bill into law after the Alabama Supreme Court lifts a restraining order from a circuit court judge that prevented the bill from being sent to him (NPR). More from AL.com. The Alabama Education Association is running ads accusing lawmakers of betrayal for approving the bill (Sand Mountain Reporter).

Indiana: Gov. Mike Pence tells a crowd of several thousand school choice supporters that vouchers and charter schools are key pieces in ed reform (Indianapolis Star). More from  Associated Press, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Evansville Courier & Press. The proposed voucher expansion raises concerns about cost (Associated Press).

Pennsylvania: Lawmakers are set to consider several bills that would alter funding formulas for both virtual and bricks-n-mortar charter schools (Pittsburg Post Gazette).

Wisconsin: The state is holding back voucher funds from five Milwaukee private schools it says have financial and/or reporting issues (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Three private schools that lost accreditation continue to receive voucher funds because of a loophole in state law (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Ohio: Gov. John Kasich proposes to hike charter school funding by 4.5 percent (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

Florida: One city in Florida turns its district schools into charter schools in an effort to boost quality (redefinED). A prominent Democrat helps lead the effort (redefinED). More than 600 gather in Orlando for the Black Alliance for Educational Options' annual symposium (redefinED). Legislation to require safety alerts for private schools clears two more hurdles (redefinED).

Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam's voucher proposal clears the House Education Committee (Associated Press). But a Republican senators puts forward a broader, alternative proposal (The Tennessean). The Rocketship charter school network plans to open eight schools in Nashville, beginning next year (Getting Smart). Nashville school district officials are stunned (The Tennessean). They also worry about the financial fallout of a bill that would create a statewide charter school authorizer (The Tennessean). (more…)

School choice. The Black Alliance for Educational Options draws 650 attendees from 20 states to Orlando for its annual symposium. Check out #SY2013 on Twitter for what's happening. Legendary school choice activist Howard Fuller says attendees shouldn't be knee-jerk about the participation of for-profit companies. Also check out this redefinED podcast with BAEO President Ken Campbell.

Charter schools. Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, tells SchoolZone Florida needs additional charter school authorizers and that the current system favors charter management companies over mom-and-pop charter schools. The House Appropriations Committee approves a charter schools bill that would tighten accountability and require school districts to share empty classroom space with charter schools, reports The Buzz.

Sequestration. Will take a bite out of already dwindling construction funds. The Florida Current. Gradebook.

Superintendents. The Hernando school board picks Lori Romano, the director of adult, community, secondary and virtual education programs for Martin County Public Schools. Gradebook.

Principals. More than 200 students and parents protest the apparent ouster of a high school principal in Broward. South Florida Sun Sentinel. (more…)

Indiana: Republican lawmakers scale back a proposal to eliminate a requirement that students attend public schools for one year before becoming eligible for a private school voucher (Associated Press). They pass it mostly along party lines in the House (Associated Press). They're advancing a proposal to switch administration of the voucher program away from newly elected Superintendent Glenda Ritz (Associated Press). They're also considering a Democratic proposal to give school districts with more than 50 percent of their students in charter schools the ability to approve new charters (Post Tribune).

New Hampshire: The state House votes to repeal the tax credit scholarship program passed into law last year over Gov. John Lynch's vote (New Hampshire Public Radio).

Iowa: The state's Catholic bishops push for vouchers (Iowa Radio).

Texas: Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, files legislation to lift the cap on charter schools and create a new body to authorize them (Texas Tribune). More from the Austin American Statesman and the News-Journal. Patrick's proposal for tax credit scholarships isn't getting a warm reception from fellow lawmakers (San Antonio Express News). Thousands of people turn out for a Save Our Schools rally to restore education funding, reduce standardized testing and oppose vouchers and charter schools (KVUE.com)

Alaska: A debate over a proposed constitutional amendment that could open the door to private school vouchers is heating up (Anchorage Daily News). The chair of the Senate Education Committee says his committee will still hold hearings on vouchers even though it will no longer be considering a bill on the proposed amendment (Alaska Public Radio News).

California: The race for three seats on the L0s Angeles Unified School Board has drawn national interest - and financial support - due to three candidates who favor parental choice, charter growth and data-based teacher evaluations (Los Angeles Daily News).

Idaho: Lawmakers propose measures to allot charter schools $1.4 million in facilities funding and allow colleges, universities and nonprofit groups to authorize charter schools (Idaho State Journal). More from Idaho Education News.

Georgia: Amid the debate on parent trigger laws and charter schools, one education advocate ponders: Whose responsibility is it to educate a child — society’s or the parent’s? (Atlanta Journal Constitution). The Georgia Legislature considers an expansion of the tax-credit scholarship program (Rome News Tribune). (more…)

Montana: House Republicans endorse three school choice bills - one to authorize charter schools, another to create a modest tax credit scholarship program and a third to create an education savings account program for students with disabilities (Independent Record). A day later, several defect on the charter school bill and it goes down - though maybe not permanently - on a 50-49 vote (Billings Gazette). The tax credit scholarship bill clears the Senate (The Missoulian).

Florida. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduces legislation to create a national tax credit scholarship program (redefinED). A parent trigger bill that was defeated last year in a dramatic tie vote is back this year (redefinED).

Colorado: Two bills to expand private school choice through tax credits go down to defeat (Ed News Colorado). A student is in limbo after his mother withdraws him from a charter school to send him back to his zoned district school but the district says it's too late (9News.com).

Arizona: Charter schools would have to follow state purchasing laws and those that use management companies would have to post salary information under a bill filed in the wake of a newspaper investigation (Arizona Republic). Lawmakers nix a bill that would have required mailers be sent to parents informing them of school choice programs (Arizona Daily Sun).

New Mexico: Public schools, including charter schools, would be barred from contracting with private entities under a bill supported by critics who fear "a Trojan horse-type assault on the state to divert public education funds" (Santa Fe New Mexican).

Idaho: Lawmakers consider equitable funding for charter schools (Idaho Reporter).

Washington: The state public schools superintendent asks legislators to put charters under his watch, a move that conflicts with the new law voters recently approved that calls for a separate supervisory panel (King5).

California: The San Francisco school district triples the rent for charter schools, after charging less than other districts for years, prompting an outcry from some charters (San Francisco Chronicle). (more…)

California: A parents group in Los Angeles is using the state's landmark parent trigger law to force the school district to reform a low-performing school. (Los Angeles Times). More from the Associated Press and Education Week. A national report finds the state continues to lead the nation in charter school growth, despite funding disparities and access to facilities (Huffington Post). Oakland district officials say the American Indian Model Schools, a charter network touted for its academic successes, suffers from "corrupt fiscal practices" and should be shut down (Oakland Tribune).

Michigan: A new report finds the typical Michigan charter school student school gained more learning in  a year than a district school peer, amounting to about an additional two  months of reading and math learning (The Detroit News).

Texas: Key state lawmakers are looking at the franchise tax on businesses as a vehicle to fund private-school scholarships for low-income students (Austin Business Journal). Critics of a proposed voucher program say all it will strip the public school system of funding and state leaders should instead restore $5.4 billion cut from education in 2011 (KUT News). Similar arguments in stories from KX11.com and the Associated Press.

Florida: Magnet schools continue to grow on the school choice landscape (redefinED). A new bill would require emergency response agencies to notify private schools just like they do public schools (redefinED). In response to the Newtown tragedy, private schools and charter schools are considering additional security measures too (redefinED).

Georgia: Tax credit scholarships are used at private schools that bar gay students (New York Times). (more…)