Florida’s charter school movement has flourished since the state’s first charter schools opened in 1996. Charter schools are public schools that have been unleashed from the unyielding bureaucratic regulations many education reformers say is the major obstacle to improving public education. Currently more than 220 such schools operate in the state, and that number is expected to rise to 300 by next fall and to 500 or more within the next three years. But while there is ample anecdotal evidence testifying to the effectiveness of charter schools–evidence that forms the backbone of their growing popularity with parents and students–all is not well.
