Charter school enrollment has been a growth story for years. But what happens when that story starts to shift? Our latest analysis of more than 1,200 California charter schools finds that enrollment pressure is no longer isolated: 46% of schools saw enrollment decline in 2026, and more than one in five lost at least 5% of their students. For school leaders, that raises urgent questions about recruiting, retention, staffing, and operating flexibility. For bondholders, it rais