Breaking Down "Public Rules on Private Schools: Measuring the Regulatory Impact of State Statutes on School Choice Programs"

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

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Scho

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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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