Charter schools continue to multiply in California, with the total number now reaching 750 schools, 75 of which opened this fall, according to the California Charter Schools Association.
Six of the new charters are in San Diego County, which has historically been a magnet for charters, with more than 10 percent of students in San Diego Unified, Grossmont Union High, Chula Vista Elementary and Vista Unified schools attending charters. Such schools are publicly funded but independently run, and are meant to be incubators of innovation free from the rules that constrict schools run by districts.