The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks North Carolina No. 23 in its latest assessment of public charter school laws across the nation. That ranking represents a 10-spot jump from 2011 to 2012.

Here’s how Southeastern states fare in the 2012 list:

  • Florida, No. 5 (down from No. 3)
  • Louisiana, No. 6 (up from No. 13)
  • South Carolina, No. 12 (up from No. 25)
  • Georgia, No. 16 (down from No. 14)
  • North Carolina, No. 23 (up from No. 33)
  • Tennessee, No. 33 (down from No. 30)
  • Virginia, No. 39 (down from No. 37)
  • Mississippi, No. 43 (down from No. 42)

Alabama has no charter school law.

While charter school advocates are likely to be pleased with the improvement in the latest rankings, one suspects they would like to see North Carolina climb beyond the middle of the pack, especially after our neighbor to the south made such a major gain in the latest rankings.

Terry Stoops has been following charter school developments closely and is likely to have valuable insights about this latest ranking.