Organizational Endorsement of the CHARTER Act to eliminate the federal funding of for-profit-run charter schools
Read our new (November 2025) report: North Carolina Charter Schools: Undermining Quality Education for All
North Carolina charter schools are publicly funded elementary and secondary schools operated independently by non-profit organizations, some of which partner with for-profit groups. Charter schools first opened in North Carolina in 1997. In 2011, despite evidence of uneven student outcomes, lawmakers abandoned the original statewide numerical cap. Where the legislature once had limited the statewide number of charter schools to 100, there is now no cap. Predictably, the number of charter schools in the state has significantly increased.
Quick Resources on NC Charter Schools
- Report to the NC General Assembly: 2025 Annual Charter Schools Report, June 2026
- Fact Sheet on Charter Schools (April 2026)
- Map of Charter Schools by County 2025-26
- List of Charter Schools by County 2025-26
- Charter School Federal Regulation Response April 2022
- 2021-22 List of NC Charter Schools by County
- Number of NC Charter Schools SY 1997-98 to 2021-22
- Economically Disadvantaged Students Charter Schools vs. Traditional Public Schools 2020-2021
- Economically Disadvantaged Students Public Schools vs Charter Schools 2017-2018
- Percentage of Students by Race NC Public & Charter Schools SY 2010-11 and 2017-18
- Percentage of NC Traditional and Charter Schools Meeting or Exceeding Expected Annual Growth 2012-2013 thru 2018-2019
- Cumulative Total State Funding NC Charter Schools 1997-1998 thru 2018-2019
- Cumulative Planned Allotted ADM NC Charter Schools 1997-1998 thru 2018-2019
- Planned Allotted ADM & Total State Funding NC Charter Schools 1997-1998 thru 2018-2019
- NC Charter School Failures 1998-2019
- Cumulative Planned Allotted ADM & Total State Funding NC Charter Schools
1997-1998 thru 2018-2019 - Office of Charter Schools
- Comprehensive Directory of North Carolina’s Charter Schools
- Charter School School Performance Data Summary, 2017-18
- Charter Schools Opening in 2020
- 2019 Charter School Applications to Open in 2020-2021
- 2018 Charter School Applications to Open in 2019-2020
- Charter Schools Application Status for Schools Opening in 2018-2019
- 2017 Charter School Applications to Open in 2018-19
Find More Research and Resources on Charter Schools