breaking down "public rules on private schools: measuring the regulatory impact of state...
DESCRIPTION
Is regulatory creep a fate that awaits all school choice programs? With the number of those programs doubling over the past five years, the need for context and understanding is critical. This report provides a framework for understanding the impacts of state government statutes regulating private schools, regulations distinct to a given school choice program, and any regulatory growth over a program’s lifespan.TRANSCRIPT
PUBLIC RULES ON PRIVATE SCHOOLSMeasuring the Regulatory Impact of State Statutes and School Choice Programs
breaking down
The U.S. has seen a surge in school choice programs over the past few years.
Number of Private School Choice Programs60
50
40
30
20
10
0
41
49 51
35
272523221916141312108654
1987 20142012201020082006200420011997
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As that growth continues, we thought it important to take a step back to see how school choice programs have affected private schools in terms of regulations.
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How did we do it?
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DREWCATT
our researcher
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examined 23 voucher, tax-credit scholarship, and education savings account programs
from across the country.
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UT
AZ
LA
IA
WI
IN
GA
OHPA
RI
FL
OK
First, he categorized private school regulations by type.
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• Certification, Licensure• Curriculum, Instruction• Application, Eligibility (for school)• Financial Reporting, Disclosure• Testing, Accountability• Paperwork, Reporting• Student Life, Health and Safety• Student Eligibility, Admissions, Enrollment, Tuition• Transportation
-3
-2
-1
0
+1
+2
+3
All private schools are required or not allowed, and there is a similar level of burden across all schools
All private schools are required, and all will face some burden, but the level will vary (some schools may need totake only a single action and some may need to take multiple actions)
All private schools are required, but some schools may never face any burden (some schools may never needto follow regulation)
Private schools may choose or volunteer but must follow applicable requirements and/or pay applicable fees andbene�t is unclear, OR already covered by general statutes, OR contradictory statutes result in a net zero effect
Private schools may choose or volunteer but must follow applicable requirements and/or pay applicable feesand bene�t is clear
Private schools may receive parity
All private schools protected/safeguarded
DescriptionImpactScaleValue
Next, he scored each regulation* in every category on a scale from -3 to +3
*See last slide@ed
choice
25
20
15
10
5
0
Num
ber o
f Priv
ate
Scho
ol R
equi
rem
ents
Pre-Choice
Then he determined how extensive those regulations were before a school choice program was enacted…
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…and how those regulations changed after school choice programs were enacted.
25
20
15
10
5
0
Num
ber o
f Priv
ate
Scho
ol R
equi
rem
ents
Program Years 2+
Program Year 1
Pre-Choice
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He then totaled the scores to show 5 things:
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1. the impact of a state’s private school regulations before any school choice program existed
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Certi�cation, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-7
+8
-
-
+2
-6
-
+3
+8
+8
Statute Category Pre-Choice
2. the immediate regulatory impact that comes with the creation of initial regulations for a school choice program
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Certi�cation, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-
-
-1
-
-3
-3
-
-3
-
-10
Statute Category ProgramYear 1
3. changes in private school regulations as policymakers revisit school choice programs after their first year of operation
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Certi�cation, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Statute Category ProgramYears 2+
4. the total regulatory impact the school choice program has had on private schools
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Certi�cation, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-
-
-1
-
-3
-3
-
-3
-
-10
Statute Category ProgramScore
5. and the total regulatory impact of all state statutes, before and during school choice programs, on private schools.
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Certi�cation, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-7
+8
-1
-
-1
-9
-
0
+8
-2
Statute Category Pre-Choice +Program Score
Looking at a national snapshot of school choice program regulations overall,
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UT
AZ
LA
IA
WI
IN
GA
OHPA
RI
FL
OK
one might assume the growth of regulations burdens private schools, but…
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160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0Certi�cation,
LicensureCurriculum,Instruction
Application,Eligibility
(for school)
FinancialReporting,Disclosure
Testing,Accountability
Paperwork,Reporting
Student Life,Health and
Safety
StudentEligibility,
Admissions,Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
Num
ber o
f Priv
ate
Scho
ol R
equi
rem
ents
Program Years 2+
Program Year 1
Pre-Choice
32
108
24
2 6
83
33 3631
4
8
29
4 6
27
7
44
1
14
3
10
4 4
41
3
10
1
Counts of Regulations on Private Schools by Time Period for All Programs Analyzed
that’s not necessarily the case for all types of school choice programs.
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State Program Type ProgramScore
Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program
AZ
FL
WI
+3
-58
-132
EducationSavings Account
Tax-CreditScholarship
Voucher
The design differences between various types of school choice programs provide insight into how regulatory structures placed on private schools can also vary.For example:
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So what did welearn in that respect?
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Voucher program scores, on average, are more than three times as negative the scores of tax-credit scholarship programs. Note: The actual level of burden facing private schools may or may not be onerous.
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AverageProgram
Scores
Of course, a state’s “Pre-Choice” environment may also play a role in how private school regulations are shaped—the regulatory burden on some tax-credit scholarship programs is higher when taking into account “Pre-Choice” regulations. Here’s an example from Florida:
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John M. McKay Scholarshipsfor Students with Disabilities Program*
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
Program Type Pre-ChoicePre-Choice+ Program
ScoreProgram
Score
Voucher
Tax-CreditScholarship
-17
-14
-60
-58
-77
-72
Education savings accounts (ESAs), a new model operating only in Arizona, are the only type of school choice analyzed that received a POSITIVE Program Score.
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Arizona
ESAs
Regulations affecting the following had the MOST negative average impact scores:
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Paperwork
Reporting
Student Eligibility
Admissions
Enrollment
Tuition
8
88
888
What’s the takeaway?
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Many regulations already affect private schools before participating in school choice programs:
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62%38%
PRE-CHOICEREGULATIONS
PROGRAM-PROMPTEDREGULATIONS
School choice may contribute to more regulations on private schools if they choose to participate in programs, but those regulations can vary in terms of their requirements and impact.
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Drew makes the following recommendationsfor policymakers:
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1. Avoid reinventing the wheel (and examine existing empirical research on private school choice programs).
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2. Avoid statutory redundancies and overlap.
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3. Consider the oversight roles of accreditation agencies and private school associations.
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4. Consider costs to private schools in fiscal impact calculations.
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5. Ensure all schools, regardless of type or sector, are reimbursed for substantial costs associated with regulations.
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To read the full report and see abreakdown for each school choiceprogram analyzed, visit
edchoice.org/PublicRulesOnPrivateSchools
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*each individual regulation from every program and its respective impact score can be found in our database, available by request (email [email protected])
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