In 1992, California became the second state to enact legislation enabling the creation of charter schools. This report provides information about 44 California charter schools that, as of the 1994-95 school year, had been in operation for at least 1 year. These 44 schools responded to a survey that was sent to each of the 62 California charter schools that were operational during the 1994-95 school year elicited (the response rate was 71 percent). Of the 62 schools, 33 serve elementary grades, 5 serve middle grades, 5 serve high school grades, and 18 serve some combination of the three. The data show wide variation among the schools as to geographic location, size and urbanicity, curricular and instructional practices, and strategies for student assessment. Many charter schools were linked to other national-level education reform efforts, and many had invested heavily in educational technology. In general, the schools used innovative instructional practices, reached out to less advantaged and racially diverse student populations, enjoyed intensive parent and community support, and were laying the groundwork for achieving a deregulated and accountability-driven education system. Charter schools faced the obstacles of inadequate facilities, legal challenges, conflict with school districts, and state-level financial matters. Two figures are included. The appendix contains a table depicting 1994-95 charter-school enrollment and demographic data. (LMI)