U.S. charter school enrollment growth has significantly outpaced that of traditional public schools over the last five years, representing a shift in what families are looking for, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The report, published by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), analyzed charter school growth in 44 states. NAPCS found that charter school enrollment has increased by nearly 400,000 students since the 2019-20 academic year, while public school districts have lost nearly 1.8 million students.

Of the 44 states analyzed, 38 saw a spike in charter school enrollment, with Texas seeing the greatest increase of 85,989 students, according to the report. The report also found that 42 out of 44 states experienced a decrease in public school district enrollment during the same period.

Only Utah and Washington, D.C., experienced an increase in public school district enrollment, with an additional 4,141 and 256 students, respectively, according to the report.

The most significant change for both types of schooling occurred between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. Charter school enrollment went up nationwide by 6.96%, and public school district enrollment dropped by 3.47%, according to the report.

NAPCS Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing Debbie Veney, who authored the report, believes the COVID-19 pandemic created “a lot of hyperfocus” on children’s individual educational experiences.

“Parents were not happy with their kids not being in school, and that dissatisfaction led them to become really quick studies on what other options were available for them,” Veney said. “So, you’re looking now at the impact of parents becoming hyperengaged in what their choices are in public education.”

“We’re just living in a different time where people realize a lot more of their own agency and decision-making abilities,” she added. “And they used to think that they had to just kind of settle for whatever was given to them, whatever was the school that they were zoned to attend … and people generally don’t believe that anymore.”

Arizona mom Fernanda Pabst is one parent who sought something new. She moved her son, then a sixth grader, from his public school district to BASIS Tucson North at the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year.

Pabst said her son has found “his home” at BASIS Tucson North, crediting the charter school’s academic rigor.

“He really enjoys the atmosphere, he really enjoys being pushed academically, he really enjoys being able to just focus on what is important to him,” she said.

In Arizona, nearly one in five public school students attend a charter school, according to NAPCS’s report. The state was also the first in the country to adopt universal school vouchers, allowing families to use tax dollars on private schooling and homeschooling options.

One of the top criticisms of voucher programs is the threat they may pose to public education. Those opposed often raise concerns the programs lead to decreased funding for public schools and lower student achievement.

To that, New Mexico parent Julia Rivera-Tapia points to data showing the Charter Schools Program (CSP) accounted for less than 1% of the U.S. Department of Education’s budget in the 2023 fiscal year. CSP is the only federal program dedicated to providing assistance with creating and expanding charter schools, according to NAPCS.

Rivera-Tapia is also an administrator at J. Paul Taylor Academy in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she says smaller class sizes have proven beneficial for students.

“You don’t get lost, you’re not just a number,” she said. “It’s small enough to where we know where folks are, we can help them … the size of it, I think it makes all the difference.”

NAPCS expects charter school enrollment to continue to grow despite schools now being multiple academic years removed from the pandemic. Veney told CITC that those who are “interested in preserving public education” should be ready to look to charter schools.

“Because they are these flexible, innovative public schools that match what parents are telling us they want,” she said.