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Charter School Brief: Texas

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Overview

As of Sept. 22, 2023, S&P Global Ratings maintains 35 public ratings on charter schools in the State of Texas, which, along with California, tops our list of states with the most rated charter schools. Today, Texas is home to almost 900 charter schools, serving 375,000 students, with another 66,000 students on waitlists statewide. The Texas legislature enacted its charter school law in 1995, and in fall 1996 the state's first charter schools opened their doors.

Chart 1

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The credit profiles for our rated charter schools in Texas are slightly stronger than those across the sector, with 60% of schools achieving investment-grade ratings, compared with just 45% for the sector as a whole. We attribute this credit strength to more-supportive state laws for charter schools in Texas than in the rest of the country, including the acceptance of qualifying bonds issued by charter schools into the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) Bond Guarantee Program, which can significantly lower a school's cost of capital by serving as a credit enhancement for guaranteed bonds carrying a 'AAA' rating.

Authorizer Framework

  • While there are four types of authorizers--the state (TEA), local school districts, colleges or universities, and home rule districts (charter districts within a school district), all 35 rated charter schools are authorized by the TEA. Most schools are authorized for terms of five years, but renewals can extend as long as 10 years.
  • We view the governance, financial performance, academic reports, and consecutive charter renewals from the state as favorable indications of an acceptable relationship between the TEA, which remains the most prevalent authorizer, and charter schools.
  • Not surprisingly, rated charter schools are clustered in major cities across the state, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area is home to the majority of the charter schools that we rate (54%), followed by Houston, with about a quarter of our ratings.

Credit Fundamentals

Table 1

Fiscal 2022 Texas charter school medians
A-/BBB+/BBB BBB- BB+/BB BB-/B+ Texas medians
No. of ratings 5 16 10 4 35
Enrollment fall 2021 32,321 1,450 1,461 1,045 1,526
Enrollment fall 2022 33,068 1,454 1,515 979 1,564
Percentage change year over year 10.35% 0.77% 5.45% -0.47% 2.33%
Waiting list as % of enrollment--fall 2022 26.8 16.6 2.15 0 14.8
Student retention rate (%)--fall 2021 89 86 84 74 85
Lease-adjusted MADS coverage 1.5 1.9 1.5 0.8 1.5
Lease-adjusted MADS burden (% total revenues) 8.0 10.6 10.3 14.9 10.5
Days unrestricted cash on hand 151.6 217.7 116.1 80.0 150.9
Unrestricted cash & investments to debt (%) 27.6 27.0 17.3 12.4 25.2
Total revenue ($000) 457,336 18,003 18,921 14,163 20,621
Total debt per student 17,126 18,539 20,030 20,659 19,011
Total revenue per student 13,678 13,159 13,583 10,246 13,326

More than half of our rated schools in Texas meet our definition of a charter network and operate multiple campuses, but while Texas is home to numerous large systems, many charter schools in the state also operate at a single site. The state includes the only 'A' category rated charter school we rate (IDEA Public Schools: A-/Negative).

Generally, Texas public schools serve a larger student population than those of their peers across the country, given continued school-age population growth across counties in the state. This results in median enrollment levels, and in some cases operating budgets, that are significantly higher when compared with medians for the entire sector. While Texas charter schools are not allowed to levy a property tax, and they do not receive an allocation of property taxes levied by local traditional public school districts as in other states, they do continue to receive state funding to cover lease and building facility costs, which we view as favorable for charters in the state.

Chart 2

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Enrollment in charter schools continues to rise, compared with a decline in traditional school districts across the state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas charter schools' enrollment increased by 8.6%, while school districts' enrollment dropped by 2.9%.

What We're Watching

School choice vouchers.   The question remains whether school vouchers will become an option in the state. So far this year, 10 states have implemented or expanded voucher programs, bringing the nationwide total with vouchers or similar programs to 32 states and the District of Columbia. Notably, the voucher bill, a signature of Governor Greg Abbott's agenda, failed to pass in the Texas House, primarily because of opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans. Governor Abbott is expected to call a special session this fall that will include asking the legislature to pass a voucher program. We will continue to monitor how Texas views voucher programs and if their potential implementation results in any shifts in charter school funding or enrollment trends.

Population growth.   While certain regions in the state's four major counties, namely Dallas County, are experiencing school-age population decreases, overall, all school-age population projections for Texas' major counties indicate growth of 1%-11% over the next five years. We believe that this expected growth will enable both traditional public schools and charters schools to continue operating in a more favorable demand environment than states that are seeing material declines among their respective school-age population, which we view positively.

Steady funding environment.   Charter schools continue to receive substantial state support based on a formula with a base level of funding plus additional funds tied to the demographics of the population served, which is weighted to benefit those serving economically disadvantaged populations. State funding has been held flat since 2019, when the basic allotment was increased by nearly 20% to $6,160 from $5,140. We will continue to monitor the state legislature for any potential funding changes and whether those changes are tied to a potential voucher bill.

Teacher shortage.   Schools across the country are facing challenges related to teacher shortages, and Texas is no stranger to these pressures. With over 370,000 teachers as of 2021-2022, Texas has the largest teacher workforce of any state. Texas also has teacher attrition above the national average; for the past decade, nearly 10% of teachers left the profession each year. Anecdotally, our rated schools have indicated using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to support compensation increases and have been exploring new strategies for teacher recruitment pipelines. We will continue to monitor how schools approach the challenge of recruiting and retaining quality instructors and the subsequent effects on both classroom performance and respective budgets.

Four-day school weeks.   We have heard from several charter schools across the state that are implementing or exploring a four-day week for the 2023-2024 school year. Most typically, this is cited as a teacher recruitment and retention tool, with minimal cost savings realized. Anecdotally, applications by teachers to schools with four-day weeks are at all-time highs, and applications from students have not decreased. We will be monitoring this trend to see if it gains momentum and how it affects academic performance and demand.

Long-term use of one-time funds.   ESSER funds have provided a significant amount of operating revenue for traditional public and charter schools. Many schools have used emergency funding to hire additional full- or part-time staff to address learning loss amid the pandemic. As the wave of federal relief expires in September 2024, schools will need to ensure that current spending is sustainable or be willing to make further cuts. In Texas, some charter schools have already incorporated those staffing cuts into their current fiscal 2024 budgets.

Texas PSF capacity.   In May 2023, the Internal Revenue Service increased the school bond guarantee program capacity to $218 billion, from $117.3 billion. The Texas PSF had approached the previous capacity level, causing some concern that the program limit would be reached. However, the new limit allows the program to continue guaranteeing the bonds of all eligible schools, including charters, for the foreseeable future. (For more information about the PSF guarantee, see our report on the Texas PSF, published Nov. 23, 2022, on RatingsDirect.)

Pension funding levels.   All public school employees in Texas, including charter school teachers, must participate in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which is adequately funded, in our view, at 75.6% for the year ending Aug. 31, 2022. We believe that should there continue to be support of current system funding levels, without a material adverse effect on charter school margins over our outlook horizon, we will continue to view the funded status and 100% contribution rate of charter district participants favorably.

Table 2

Texas charter school ratings list
Charter school Rating Outlook Charter contract expiration
Idea Public Schools A- Negative July 31, 2025
Harmony Public Schools BBB+ Stable June 30, 2025
KIPP Texas BBB+ Stable August 1, 2028
Responsive Education Solutions BBB Positive July 31, 2033
Trinity Basin Preparatory BBB Stable July 31, 2033
A+ Charter Schools, Inc. BBB- Stable July 31, 2025
Academy of Accelerated Learning Inc. BBB- Stable July 31, 2033
Arlington Classics Academy BBB- Stable July 31, 2033
Austin Achieve Public Schools BBB- Stable July 31, 2027
Beatrice Mayes Institute BBB- Stable July 31, 2025
Braination, Inc. (fka Educational Resources) BBB- Stable July 31, 2026
Cityscape Schools, Inc. BBB- Stable July 31, 2031
Compass Academy Charter School BBB- Stable July 31, 2026
Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy BBB- Stable July 31, 2028
Horizon Montessori Public Schools BBB- Stable July 31, 2033
Hughen Center, Inc. (The Bob Hope School) BBB- Stable July 1, 2024
Life School of Dallas BBB- Stable July 31, 2033
Orenda Education BBB- Stable July 31, 2025
Riverwalk Education foundation, Inc. BBB- Stable June 30, 2029
Ser-Ninos, Inc. BBB- Stable July 31, 2031
Uplift Ed BBB- Stable July 31, 2031
Eagle Advantage Schools, Inc. (Advantage Academy) BB+ Stable June 30, 2033
Golden Rule Charter School BB+ Stable July 31, 2029
Jubilee Academic Center BB+ Stable July 31, 2025
Southwest Preparatory School BB+ Stable July 31, 2033
Nova Charter School BB Negative July 31, 2033
NYOS Charter School, Inc. BB Stable July 31, 2032
Odyssey Academy BB Stable June 30, 2033
Texas Leadership Charter Academy BB Positive July 31, 2024
Village Tech Schools BB Stable July 31, 2028
Wayside Schools BB Stable June 30, 2033
LTTS Charter School, Inc. (Universal Academy) BB- Negative July 31, 2032
Winfree Academy Charter Schools BB- Stable June 30, 2025
A.W. Brown Fellowship Charter School B+ Negative July 31, 2026
Evolution Academy B+ Stable July 31, 2029

This report does not constitute a rating action.

Primary Credit Analyst:Alexander Enriquez, Dallas 231-459-9892;
alexander.enriquez@spglobal.com
Secondary Contacts:Avani K Parikh, New York + 1 (212) 438 1133;
avani.parikh@spglobal.com
Jessica L Wood, Chicago + 1 (312) 233 7004;
jessica.wood@spglobal.com
Brian J Marshall, Dallas + 1 (214) 871 1414;
brian.marshall@spglobal.com
David Holmes, Houston + 214 871 1427;
david.holmes@spglobal.com
Research Contributor:Tanmay Shah, CRISIL Global Analytical Center, an S&P affiliate, Mumbai

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