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  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index

PARENT POWER!

  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index
Menu
  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index

PARENT POWER!

  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index
Menu
  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index

Illinois

U.S.
Rank

#29
Overall PPI Score:
64.8%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to Illinois state overview
A
B
C
D
F
  • Opportunity
  • Innovation
  • Policy Environment

Charter Schools

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#38

Despite life-saving opportunities created by charter schools here, there are few states where charter schools encounter as many fights from labor unions and their friendly politicians, especially in Chicago.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1996

Most recently amended: 2019

Number of charter schools: 137

Number of charter students: 62,497

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? Yes

Virtual charters allowed? Yes

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Local districts or the state board of education.  Prior to July 1, there was a semi-independent State Charter School Commission, which was added when districts demonstrated they were unwilling to charter.  However, the 2019 legislation abolished that and the ability for new charter school applicants to appeal district denials. All responsibilities were transferred to the state board of education. But the state board only authorizes schools on appeal that are either denied by the local board, applications transferred to the board by two or more districts when an applicant proposes being jointly authorized, or charter schools that are initiated from local residents. 

GROWTH:  Only 120 schools are permitted statewide, with a maximum of 70 in Chicago, and growth has come to a screeching halt. The 2019 legislative changes will further harm the growth of charter schools in Illinois. Considering that 94% of charter students in Illinois are students of color, 15% are special education students, and 85% qualify for free or reduced lunch, hampered growth will undoubtedly have a negative impact on students in the state.

OPERATIONS:  The teachers unions have created a highly regulatory environment in the state, and is relentless in working to unionize them. The Chicago teachers contract includes a provision that creates a moratorium on new charter schools, as well.  While charters receive blanket waivers from regulations affecting districts, the law allows districts to impose their own regulations on the charters they authorize. Chicago Public Schools, in particular, heavily regulates the schools it authorizes. 

EQUITY: Funding is not equitable in Illinois, but a 2017 law increased the funding for charter schools here, to a minimum of 97% and no more than 103% of the funding that districts receive (the previous minimum was 75%). Charters must apply for state grants distributed to school districts. Additionally, the state board can charge up to 3 percent of a school’s revenue for administrative fees. Charter Schools in Illinois do not receive per-pupil facilities funding.  In 2019 a $34 million appropriation in capital funding was made to several charter schools in Chicago as part of the state’s capital bill.

Learn More:

Illinois Charter School Law

Illinois Network of Charter Schools

Choice Programs (Scholarships, Vouchers, Tax Credits, etc.)

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#20

Choice hit the land of Lincoln in 2018, when a modest tax credit scholarship was created. Current Gov. Pritzker is not a fan and proposed slashing its funding in his 2021 budget. The program survived, but remains under threat. 

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 1999 and 2017

Number of programs: 2

Statewide Participation: 7,000

Types of programs: Tax Credit Scholarship, Individual Tax Credit/ Deduction

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Tax-Credit Scholarship
Invest in Kids Program
Illinois’s tax-credit scholarship program for low-income and middle class families launched in 2018. Under this program, individuals and businesses that donate to qualified Scholarship Granting Organizations receive a 75% income tax credit. For students to be eligible, household incomes must not be above 300% of the federal poverty level.  In 2021 lawmakers extended the program sunset by one year, despite Gov. Pritzker’s efforts to cut the tax credit amount that businesses and individuals receive by half. There are currently approximately 26,000 students on the waiting list. The Legislature will revisit whether to kill the program next year.

Education expenses (not a choice program)
Tax Credits for Educational Expenses
Illinois’ individual tax-credit/ deduction program began in 2000 to help families pay for education expenses. The maximum benefit is $750.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on Illinois

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

74%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#19

Serving in high needs areas and student outcomes do not factor into compensation, but the state does have reasonably high content knowledge requirements.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 77%
General Teacher Preparation 82%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 75%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 88%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 58%
Alternate Routes 80%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 82%
Hiring 85%
Retaining Effective Teachers 79%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 78%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 58%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Charter Schools

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#38

Despite life-saving opportunities created by charter schools here, there are few states where charter schools encounter as many fights from labor unions and their friendly politicians, especially in Chicago.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1996

Most recently amended: 2019

Number of charter schools: 137

Number of charter students: 62,497

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? Yes

Virtual charters allowed? Yes

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Local districts or the state board of education.  Prior to July 1, there was a semi-independent State Charter School Commission, which was added when districts demonstrated they were unwilling to charter.  However, the 2019 legislation abolished that and the ability for new charter school applicants to appeal district denials. All responsibilities were transferred to the state board of education. But the state board only authorizes schools on appeal that are either denied by the local board, applications transferred to the board by two or more districts when an applicant proposes being jointly authorized, or charter schools that are initiated from local residents. 

GROWTH:  Only 120 schools are permitted statewide, with a maximum of 70 in Chicago, and growth has come to a screeching halt. The 2019 legislative changes will further harm the growth of charter schools in Illinois. Considering that 94% of charter students in Illinois are students of color, 15% are special education students, and 85% qualify for free or reduced lunch, hampered growth will undoubtedly have a negative impact on students in the state.

OPERATIONS:  The teachers unions have created a highly regulatory environment in the state, and is relentless in working to unionize them. The Chicago teachers contract includes a provision that creates a moratorium on new charter schools, as well.  While charters receive blanket waivers from regulations affecting districts, the law allows districts to impose their own regulations on the charters they authorize. Chicago Public Schools, in particular, heavily regulates the schools it authorizes. 

EQUITY: Funding is not equitable in Illinois, but a 2017 law increased the funding for charter schools here, to a minimum of 97% and no more than 103% of the funding that districts receive (the previous minimum was 75%). Charters must apply for state grants distributed to school districts. Additionally, the state board can charge up to 3 percent of a school’s revenue for administrative fees. Charter Schools in Illinois do not receive per-pupil facilities funding.  In 2019 a $34 million appropriation in capital funding was made to several charter schools in Chicago as part of the state’s capital bill.

Learn More:

Illinois Charter School Law

Illinois Network of Charter Schools

Choice Programs (Scholarships, Vouchers, Tax Credits, etc.)

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#20

Choice hit the land of Lincoln in 2018, when a modest tax credit scholarship was created. Current Gov. Pritzker is not a fan and proposed slashing its funding in his 2021 budget. The program survived, but remains under threat. 

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 1999 and 2017

Number of programs: 2

Statewide Participation: 7,000

Types of programs: Tax Credit Scholarship, Individual Tax Credit/ Deduction

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Tax-Credit Scholarship
Invest in Kids Program
Illinois’s tax-credit scholarship program for low-income and middle class families launched in 2018. Under this program, individuals and businesses that donate to qualified Scholarship Granting Organizations receive a 75% income tax credit. For students to be eligible, household incomes must not be above 300% of the federal poverty level.  In 2021 lawmakers extended the program sunset by one year, despite Gov. Pritzker’s efforts to cut the tax credit amount that businesses and individuals receive by half. There are currently approximately 26,000 students on the waiting list. The Legislature will revisit whether to kill the program next year.

Education expenses (not a choice program)
Tax Credits for Educational Expenses
Illinois’ individual tax-credit/ deduction program began in 2000 to help families pay for education expenses. The maximum benefit is $750.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on Illinois

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

74%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#19

Serving in high needs areas and student outcomes do not factor into compensation, but the state does have reasonably high content knowledge requirements.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 77%
General Teacher Preparation 82%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 75%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 88%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 58%
Alternate Routes 80%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 82%
Hiring 85%
Retaining Effective Teachers 79%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 78%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 58%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital & Personalized Learning

Digital Learning:

Score:

72%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#34

When the pandemic started, it was evident that internet connectivity for students in Chicago was seriously lacking, especially in low-income neighborhoods. As a result, the city launched a new revolutionary $50 million initiative called Chicago Connected that is primarily privately funded by the philanthropic community, and will give 100,000 students access to free broadband internet for the next four years.

Individual school district technology plans are no longer required in Illinois. The School Technology Revolving Loan Program was started in 1999, and since then, more than $87 million in loans has been given to school districts. 

The Learning Technology Center  is an Illinois State Board of Education program that supports technology integration and digital learning in all public K-12 schools.The Center’s focus areas are: network and technology infrastructure,  student data security and safety, and equity and access. 

Illinois Virtual School is a statewide virtual school that opened in 2001 and serves middle and high school students. In 2018, over 6,600 students were enrolled in online courses. Illinois Virtual School does not grant diplomas but serves as a supplemental program. IVS courses are open to public, private and homeschool students, and educators are offered professional development courses. 

Illinois has four school districts that are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, helping over 40,000 students in the state gain access to digital learning. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation.  

Bandwidth: “98.7% of students in Illinois can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 25,813 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”

Personalized Learning:

Illinois legislature enacted the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act​ in 2016, which helps students prepare for their future by offering a Postsecondary and Career Expectations framework. The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act​ was amended in 2018 to create the Competency-Based High School Graduation Requirements Pilot Program, which allows high school students to earn credit in non-traditional ways and learn through real-world learning experiences. The pilot is currently in 25 school sites, representing 47 districts in the state.

Learn More:

Chicago Connected

The School Technology Revolving Loan Program

Learning Technology Center

Illinois Virtual School

League of Innovative Schools

Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act

Competency-Based High School Graduation Requirements Pilot Program

COVID-19 Response

Illinois’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was lacking. While communicating early about closures and providing remote learning guidelines on March 27,  guidelines lowered expectations for learning.

For example, it said that “… all students, families, schools, and districts are diverse, and [that the state supports] remote learning that meets local needs and, to the greatest extent possible, minimizes the negative impact this unprecedented moment has on our students’ educational trajectories.” This fell short of encouraging continuous learning for all students, and as a result many students in Illinois did not receive instruction for many weeks.

Another example of the cost of limited expectations is seen in Chicago, where the district plan only called for the following engagement: “the recommended daily academic engagement is one hour for preschool, 90 minutes for kindergarten through second grade, two hours for third through fifth grades, three hours for sixth through eighth grades, and 4 ½ hours for ninth through 12th grades.”

Most Illinois public schools are offering hybrid learning for the fall, with Chicago Public Schools opting for going fully remote amidst brewing union protests.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

38%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

26%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

34%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

32%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

86%

Average SAT Score:

981/1600

Average ACT Score:

24.5/36

Public School Enrollment:

1,868,482

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

3.3%

Average Student Funding:

$17,293.00
Digital & Personalized Learning
Digital Learning:

Score:

72%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#34

When the pandemic started, it was evident that internet connectivity for students in Chicago was seriously lacking, especially in low-income neighborhoods. As a result, the city launched a new revolutionary $50 million initiative called Chicago Connected that is primarily privately funded by the philanthropic community, and will give 100,000 students access to free broadband internet for the next four years.

Individual school district technology plans are no longer required in Illinois. The School Technology Revolving Loan Program was started in 1999, and since then, more than $87 million in loans has been given to school districts. 

The Learning Technology Center  is an Illinois State Board of Education program that supports technology integration and digital learning in all public K-12 schools.The Center’s focus areas are: network and technology infrastructure,  student data security and safety, and equity and access. 

Illinois Virtual School is a statewide virtual school that opened in 2001 and serves middle and high school students. In 2018, over 6,600 students were enrolled in online courses. Illinois Virtual School does not grant diplomas but serves as a supplemental program. IVS courses are open to public, private and homeschool students, and educators are offered professional development courses. 

Illinois has four school districts that are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, helping over 40,000 students in the state gain access to digital learning. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation.  

Bandwidth: “98.7% of students in Illinois can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 25,813 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”

Personalized Learning:

Illinois legislature enacted the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act​ in 2016, which helps students prepare for their future by offering a Postsecondary and Career Expectations framework. The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act​ was amended in 2018 to create the Competency-Based High School Graduation Requirements Pilot Program, which allows high school students to earn credit in non-traditional ways and learn through real-world learning experiences. The pilot is currently in 25 school sites, representing 47 districts in the state.

Learn More:

Chicago Connected

The School Technology Revolving Loan Program

Learning Technology Center

Illinois Virtual School

League of Innovative Schools

Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act

Competency-Based High School Graduation Requirements Pilot Program

COVID-19 Response

Illinois’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was lacking. While communicating early about closures and providing remote learning guidelines on March 27,  guidelines lowered expectations for learning.

For example, it said that “… all students, families, schools, and districts are diverse, and [that the state supports] remote learning that meets local needs and, to the greatest extent possible, minimizes the negative impact this unprecedented moment has on our students’ educational trajectories.” This fell short of encouraging continuous learning for all students, and as a result many students in Illinois did not receive instruction for many weeks.

Another example of the cost of limited expectations is seen in Chicago, where the district plan only called for the following engagement: “the recommended daily academic engagement is one hour for preschool, 90 minutes for kindergarten through second grade, two hours for third through fifth grades, three hours for sixth through eighth grades, and 4 ½ hours for ninth through 12th grades.”

Most Illinois public schools are offering hybrid learning for the fall, with Chicago Public Schools opting for going fully remote amidst brewing union protests.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

38%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

26%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

34%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

32%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

86%

Average SAT Score:

981/1600

Average ACT Score:

24.5/36

Public School Enrollment:

1,868,482

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

3.3%

Average Student Funding:

$17,293.00

Leadership

Your governor:

J.B. Pritzker (D)

First term began in 2019 (no term limit)

Two weeks before Election Day Gov. J.B. Pritzker felt it necessary to promote his support of education opportunity when he endorsed the state’s education choice program in a new candidate survey, replying “Yes” to the question, “Do you support Illinois’ tax credit scholarship that provides financial support for students to attend private and parochial schools?” Pundits have speculated that this change of heart is in response to a recent study that found nearly 80,000 students have left Chicago Public Schools and student proficiency rates have declined nearly 80% in math and 70% in reading since the current leaders took over the Chicago Teachers Union in 2010. All that, and 55% higher costs.  We will see what happens now that he is back in office with another four years.

State Legislature:

Illinois is an unfriendly, even hostile, environment for education opportunity. Both the House and Senate are Democrat-controlled and are anti-reform. Passage of the bill eliminating the Charter School Commission was a step the legislature took to try to halt growth of charter schools.

Constitutional Issues

The Illinois Constitution contains both a Compelled Support Clause and a Blaine Amendment. The Illinois Supreme Court permitted some public support for children attending religious schools, though. “The Illinois Supreme Court has found that only direct, unrestricted payments of public funds to religious schools unconstitutional.”(Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Illinois School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School report cards are easily accessible by clicking the Illinois Report Card button at the top of the Illinois State Board of Education homepage. Reports are presented in a clean dashboard where users can explore data by clicking on different tabs. Reports are a rich resource of meaningful information for parents by disaggregating data into academic progress, school environment, students, teachers, and administrators. There is also a useful feature to download and print the school “At-a-Glance” PDF. Educational options are easily accessible on the main page as well.

School board elections are not at the same time as general elections, which usually means lower voter turnout.

Leadership
Your governor:

J.B. Pritzker (D)

First term began in 2019 (no term limit)

Two weeks before Election Day Gov. J.B. Pritzker felt it necessary to promote his support of education opportunity when he endorsed the state’s education choice program in a new candidate survey, replying “Yes” to the question, “Do you support Illinois’ tax credit scholarship that provides financial support for students to attend private and parochial schools?” Pundits have speculated that this change of heart is in response to a recent study that found nearly 80,000 students have left Chicago Public Schools and student proficiency rates have declined nearly 80% in math and 70% in reading since the current leaders took over the Chicago Teachers Union in 2010. All that, and 55% higher costs.  We will see what happens now that he is back in office with another four years.

State Legislature:

Illinois is an unfriendly, even hostile, environment for education opportunity. Both the House and Senate are Democrat-controlled and are anti-reform. Passage of the bill eliminating the Charter School Commission was a step the legislature took to try to halt growth of charter schools.

Constitutional Issues

The Illinois Constitution contains both a Compelled Support Clause and a Blaine Amendment. The Illinois Supreme Court permitted some public support for children attending religious schools, though. “The Illinois Supreme Court has found that only direct, unrestricted payments of public funds to religious schools unconstitutional.”(Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Illinois School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School report cards are easily accessible by clicking the Illinois Report Card button at the top of the Illinois State Board of Education homepage. Reports are presented in a clean dashboard where users can explore data by clicking on different tabs. Reports are a rich resource of meaningful information for parents by disaggregating data into academic progress, school environment, students, teachers, and administrators. There is also a useful feature to download and print the school “At-a-Glance” PDF. Educational options are easily accessible on the main page as well.

School board elections are not at the same time as general elections, which usually means lower voter turnout.

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Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools, open by choice, free from most rules and regulations that hamper traditional public schools and held accountable for results.

Since 1991, when charter schools were first established in Minnesota, the principle has remained the same — increased operational autonomy in exchange for increased accountability for outcomes. This freedom to innovate allows academically excellent charter schools to flourish.

As of 2020, there were more than 7,300 charter schools across the country with more than 3.3 million students, with demand higher everywhere they are located. Forty-six states, including Washington, D.C. have charter school laws. West Virginia enacted the most recent law in 2019. All charter laws are not created equal, however, and in fact, many are so flawed that they allow for only minimal opportunity for parents. PPI draws from CER’s newest Charter School Law Rankings and Scorecard, produced in the summer of 2020. For the US as a whole, the glass is more empty than full when it comes to meaningful charter choices.

Since 1996, CER has researched, analyzed, and ranked charter school laws, taking the content of each law into consideration as well as how it impacts charter schools on the ground. This Parent Power Index looks at four main areas of each state’s law:

If it allows for multiple authorizers, and if applicants have the ability to appeal a denial; whether it allows for growth, particularly with no caps on number of schools or enrollment; if schools and teachers have freedom to innovate; and if there is equitable funding of schools, including for facilities and transportation.

Charter schools are the most analyzed public school reform in decades. Since 1996, CER has studied their impact, their environment, and their practice and made recommendations for how to improve each law. The Parent Power Index charter score is based on whether the law allows for freedom and flexibility that can ensure parents, teachers and the general public are able to build vibrant, successful charter schools without undue interference from flawed state regulators, with equitable funding and parents in the driver’s seat. More about how this works can be found in CER publications, most notably Charting a New Course and The Future of School.

In addition, past rankings document how states have grown or confined charter schools and what best practices should be followed. Finally CER has provided a model charter school law for policymakers that is the standard bearer for advocates who believe that parents, not systems, should drive education.

Choice Programs

Educational choice is best defined as the availability of a multitude of public programs that provide parents with the ability to include private and religious entities – schools, tutoring, and other organizations – in their choices. Those programs are enacted at the state level, allowing in a wide variety of ways that the funds allocated for education in a state either follow the student to the institution the parent chooses or, as in the case of tax credits, public funds are redistributed to support the choices parents make, rather than automatically going to government based school districts.

These options are often referred to as scholarship programs, vouchers, tax credits, education accounts and more.

The existence of a higher degree of educational choice in a community or state, particularly for lower income students, has been found to be a significant factor in improving education and ensuring all students have access to the best school that meets their individual needs. Where once private options were only available to the more advantaged, most choice programs today ensure that those without resources have the power to shape their student’s education and invest in their future.

PPI 2020 assesses the extent to which every state gives families better and more abundant educational options through various mechanisms. Choice programs are analyzed and evaluated on their potential to reach all children across a state and for the degree to which they can actually support the full choice of parents, as opposed to only providing a modest amount of financial support. Programs where a significant population of parents can obtain scholarships or vouchers to send their children to the school of their choice score higher than those that have limitations based on geography, income, and student eligibility constraints.

To determine scores, PPI relies on well-established organizations which study, advance and support such programs. The scores were developed with this lens, and on information and ratings from EdChoice’s School Choice in America Dashboard, American Legislative Exchange Council’s Report Card on American Education: 23rd Edition, and American Federation for Children’s School Choice Interactive Map.

Teacher Quality

Teacher Quality is an equally important facet of ensuring greater educational opportunity. There is a direct correlation between quality teachers and student achievement, and teachers have the power to foster highly effective learning environments and leave a lasting impact on the future of their students. State teacher policies are critical in ensuring that students have the opportunity to receive the best education possible. Without schools full of well-prepared teachers who are held accountable either directly to the parent or to taxpayers for student achievement, opportunity can be meaningless. Most states vary widely in the criteria used to train, hire, retain, evaluate, reward and advance teachers, and local rules also influence that criteria greatly, as do teachers unions. PPI looked again to the expert analysis of the National Council of Teacher Quality, and from several aspects of their work PPI extrapolated final teacher quality scores. (NCTQ does not grade each state.)

Relying solely on the rich data collected from the National Council on Teacher Quality, states are measured by across a wide range of policy categories: Training and Recruitment, Staffing and Support, Evaluation, and Compensation. The score is by no means comprehensive about teacher quality across every community and state, but it is based on the extent to which states rigorously expect, manage and measure different aspects of teacher training, hiring, evaluation and compensation. States score higher when they have strong, data-driven, performance-based accountability systems that ensure teachers are rewarded, retained, and advanced based on their effectiveness. Likewise, states that establish rigorous teacher preparation programs and offer alternative licensing programs earn higher scores.

For more information about the Teacher Quality landscape, please see the National Council on Teacher Quality’s detailed analysis in their State Teacher Policy Database.

Innovation

States are measured on their increasing commitment to and practice of innovative approaches to education that include digital learning models and pathways, full or in part, encouraging personalized learning through focus on competency and mastery – even on a pilot level – or by allowing flexibility in schools and school districts that want to do it. Personalized learning models value mastery of material over traditional subject matter time tests, and competency over end of course grades. While these practices are best decided locally, closest to the student, states can motivate, incentivize, fund, discourage or encourage.

To determine scores, the PPI drew heavily from ExcelinEd’s 2019 State Progress Toward Next Generation Learning, Aurora Institute’s 2020 Future-Focused State Policy Actions to Transform K-12 Education, and KnowledgeWorks’ 2019 State Policy Framework for Personalized Learning.

COVID-19 Response

When COVID-19 reached our shores in early 2020, states were forced to close their schools for in-person instruction. Whether and how to continue teaching and set expectations for continued learning outside of the classroom was a big debate. Many states and schools quickly pivoted to delivering education remotely, either through technology enabled tools or with low-tech paper packets and phone calls, or a combination of both. The response from schools and school districts varied widely, with some being willing to adapt and some actually discouraging both teaching and learning. CER tracked those responses (and continues to do so, given the fluidity of the situation). States that were encouraging, set expectations, and demanded that schools figure out whatever they could to keep moving students forward, tended to have more schools and districts that responded well and worked to deliver education regardless of challenges. Many states that had digital or virtual learning programs in place were able to make a more seamless shift. Innovative leaders at local and state levels rose to the occasion. But many states and localities dragged their feet and, in some cases, outright discouraged schooling to keep going, including forbidding teachers in some areas to be required to do any face to face teaching via technology.

States were evaluated based on reviewing their official notices and declarations, and by reviewing a broad array of surveys and data many groups have been maintaining. This score also factors in states’ prior commitments to expanding broadband and internet access and how they worked to provide devices to keep students learning and engaged.

What was, and is, a challenging and unprecedented time for schools, teachers, and parents was also an opportunity to look at states’ and schools’ abilities to adapt, be flexible, and innovate.

For more on Education Innovation, check out the CER ACTION Series:

  • Virtual Events & Videos
  • Key Data
  • Resources
  • Publications

Leadership

Improving education opportunity and innovation requires leaders who boldly and courageously push forward to create or expand successful programs that allow a wide variety of educational choice and individualized programs to thrive. Governors and state legislators are the most important entities in each state to pave the way, or deter, expanded parent power. Some leaders pay lip service to issues, while others wake up with a fire in their belly to ensure that they are doing what they can every day to push through conventional wisdom and demand 21st century schooling opportunities for all students.

Whether or not your governor is the bold, fire-in-the-belly kind, or a passive applauder of others’ efforts, is evaluated to help you push or prod or applaud. PPI looks at their positions AND actions on charter schools, choice programs, innovation, and commitment to increasing educational opportunities for all students at every level and summarizes it for you here. You have the power to elect leaders who prioritize parents and students!

Constitutional Issues

The ability for states to enact educational change can be significantly limited depending on certain provisions in state constitutions.

The most common clause that limits educational opportunity in most states are “Blaine Amendments” – named after 19th century Congressman James Blaine nearly 150 years ago. Historically, these provisions in 37 state constitutions were either interpreted to restrict educational choice programs that include private schools or have been a deterrent for many programs being considered, let alone enacted.

This issue received a great deal of press leading up to and following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30, 2020 decision in the case of Espinoza vs Montana Department of Revenue, a case that dealt with Montana’s Blaine Amendment. That landmark decision found that the U.S. Constitution “forbids states from excluding religious schools as options for families participating in educational choice programs, including through Blaine Amendments.”

As a result, most states have a new path to enact programs that provide options for families, including religious schools. Their individual versions of Blaine Amendments can either be nullified with attorney generals’ opinions, with legislation or with both. Additional restrictions on expanded opportunity are often dedicated by what is called a Compelled Support Clause where dated constitutional language restricts public funding to government entities.

We look at each state’s particular constitutional issues, utilizing a number of sources, CER attorney analysis and the Institute for Justice’s research as our guide. Additional information about Espinoza and Blaine Amendments can be found here.

In addition, if states have other constitutional barriers to more opportunity, they are evaluated in this area.

Transparency

Transparency is a key element of providing great opportunities for students. Every parent needs and deserves full transparency of school-level data to allow them to make informed decisions and drive changes in how their students are educated. School report cards empower parents in their decision making by giving them access to meaningful and quality education data about a particular school or district. Report cards often provide information on student performance, student growth, attendance, graduation rates, demographics, teacher quality, school environment, assessments, and more. States that have greater transparency and accountability provide the public with data that is current, readily available, and easy to understand.

States are measured based on the transparency and accessibility of data for the average person looking to learn about their child’s school. States have more gas in the tank when school report cards are easily accessible from their state DOE homepage; report cards are comprehensive, user-friendly, and easy to understand; and information about educational options are readily available. Additionally, states score higher when they hold School Board Elections during the General Election cycle, as opposed to off-times of the year when turnout is low, because this tends to afford parents more power in their decision-making.