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PARENT POWER!

  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index
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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

New Hampshire

U.S.
Rank

#22
Overall PPI Score:
70.2%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to New Hampshire state overview
A
B
C
D
F
  • Opportunity
  • Innovation
  • Policy Environment

Charter Schools

Score:

72%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#30

A layered system of school board and voter approval without independent authorizers often results in far more organized opponents having the last word in this tiny charter movement state.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1995

Most recently amended: 2018

Number of charter schools: 28

Number of charter students: 4,938

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? Yes

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Charters may either apply to the school districts which also requires both state board approval and approval by voters in the district. Applicants can also apply directly to the state board, but with no local funding available. The state board authorizes the vast majority of schools here.

GROWTH: The tiny charter sector has grown modestly but  growth is not encouraged. In 2019, lawmakers rejected a $46 million federal grant to grow charters in the state. 

OPERATIONS:  Charters receive a blanket waiver from most rules and regulations that apply to traditional district schools.

EQUITY: Law guarantees that charters receive at least 80 percent of the per-pupil funding that districts receive, but this doesn’t always happen in practice. Many charters receive significantly less funding than their district counterparts. Often, charters do not receive federal categorical funds they should because of unclear guidance on how those funds should be distributed. No per-pupil facilities funds.

Learn More:

New Hampshire Charter School Law

New Hampshire Alliance for Public Charter Schools

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

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#29

The granite state now has three choice initiatives in the state, thanks to a new ESA program passed in June 2021. In the 2020-2021 school year,  the state’s tax-credit and voucher program together served 715 students total. 

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 2012 and 2017

Number of programs: 3

Statewide Participation: 715

Types of programs: Voucher, Tax Credit Scholarship, Education Savings Account

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Tax-Credit Scholarship
Education Tax Credit Program
The New Hampshire Education Tax Credit Program, was enacted in 2012, allows businesses that donate to scholarship-granting non-profits with tax credits. Families who meet the income limits can receive scholarships towards private schooling, tutoring, online learning, classes at colleges or universities, and/or homeschooling expenses.

Voucher
Town Tuitioning Program
New Hampshire’s voucher program was launched 2017, and allows students in towns without public schools to use funds to attend any public or approved private, non-religious school in or outside of New Hampshire. There are no income limits or enrollment caps. The voucher cap is 100% of public school per-pupil funds.

Education Savings Account
Education Freedom Accounts Program
In June 2021 New Hampshire Legislature established the Education Freedom Accounts Program to expand the use of educational options outside of the traditional public school system. The program diverts state educational funding for eligible students choosing to leave traditional public schools to attend private, parochial, or charter schools, or homeschooling. Eligible students are those whose annual household income is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as updated annually. EFA’s will approximately range from $3,700– $9,000 per student and average about $4,600 per student in 2021-22. A University of New Hampshire study indicated that approximately 69,000 children will be eligible for the program, while sponsors of the bill estimate that only about 2 percent of these children will take advantage of the program.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on New Hampshire

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#44

Strong elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs in place, but “does not have any policies in place that offer teachers additional compensation based on evidence of effectiveness.”

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT:                 69%
General Teacher Preparation 62%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 90%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 78%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 60%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 74%
Hiring 85%
Retaining Effective Teachers 63%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 55%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 62%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Charter Schools

Score:

72%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#30

A layered system of school board and voter approval without independent authorizers often results in far more organized opponents having the last word in this tiny charter movement state.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1995

Most recently amended: 2018

Number of charter schools: 28

Number of charter students: 4,938

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? Yes

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Charters may either apply to the school districts which also requires both state board approval and approval by voters in the district. Applicants can also apply directly to the state board, but with no local funding available. The state board authorizes the vast majority of schools here.

GROWTH: The tiny charter sector has grown modestly but  growth is not encouraged. In 2019, lawmakers rejected a $46 million federal grant to grow charters in the state. 

OPERATIONS:  Charters receive a blanket waiver from most rules and regulations that apply to traditional district schools.

EQUITY: Law guarantees that charters receive at least 80 percent of the per-pupil funding that districts receive, but this doesn’t always happen in practice. Many charters receive significantly less funding than their district counterparts. Often, charters do not receive federal categorical funds they should because of unclear guidance on how those funds should be distributed. No per-pupil facilities funds.

Learn More:

New Hampshire Charter School Law

New Hampshire Alliance for Public Charter Schools

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

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#29

The granite state now has three choice initiatives in the state, thanks to a new ESA program passed in June 2021. In the 2020-2021 school year,  the state’s tax-credit and voucher program together served 715 students total. 

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 2012 and 2017

Number of programs: 3

Statewide Participation: 715

Types of programs: Voucher, Tax Credit Scholarship, Education Savings Account

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Tax-Credit Scholarship
Education Tax Credit Program
The New Hampshire Education Tax Credit Program, was enacted in 2012, allows businesses that donate to scholarship-granting non-profits with tax credits. Families who meet the income limits can receive scholarships towards private schooling, tutoring, online learning, classes at colleges or universities, and/or homeschooling expenses.

Voucher
Town Tuitioning Program
New Hampshire’s voucher program was launched 2017, and allows students in towns without public schools to use funds to attend any public or approved private, non-religious school in or outside of New Hampshire. There are no income limits or enrollment caps. The voucher cap is 100% of public school per-pupil funds.

Education Savings Account
Education Freedom Accounts Program
In June 2021 New Hampshire Legislature established the Education Freedom Accounts Program to expand the use of educational options outside of the traditional public school system. The program diverts state educational funding for eligible students choosing to leave traditional public schools to attend private, parochial, or charter schools, or homeschooling. Eligible students are those whose annual household income is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as updated annually. EFA’s will approximately range from $3,700– $9,000 per student and average about $4,600 per student in 2021-22. A University of New Hampshire study indicated that approximately 69,000 children will be eligible for the program, while sponsors of the bill estimate that only about 2 percent of these children will take advantage of the program.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on New Hampshire

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#44

Strong elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs in place, but “does not have any policies in place that offer teachers additional compensation based on evidence of effectiveness.”

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT:                 69%
General Teacher Preparation 62%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 90%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 78%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 60%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 74%
Hiring 85%
Retaining Effective Teachers 63%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 55%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 62%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital & Personalized Learning

Digital Learning:

Score:

88%

Grade:

B

Rank:

#2

New Hampshire offers an abundance of programs, resources, grant programs, and support for school districts to transition into technology rich environments. A few examples of digital learning initiatives are:

GenYES New Hampshire is an initiative with the NHDOE and non-profit organization Generation YES to integrate educational technology into the classroom. There are 17 schools in the state that are participating and developing digital literacy skills. 

Future Ready New Hampshire has participating school districts utilizing digital learning as a part of their curriculum to prepare students for college and career. School districts participating are following the Future Ready Framework to refine the traditional curriculum and school structure. 

The Go Open program is a free digital library for educators to access openly licensed educational resources. Many school districts across the state are a part of the #GoOpen transition, and use high-quality OER digital content in the classroom. 

The New Hampshire School Connectivity Initiative is a collaboration between agencies to expand internet connectivity and broadband access in K-12 schools. 

The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School is a state virtual school that opened  in 2007. VLACS offers middle school, high school, and adult education courses where students can enroll full-time or part-time. “During 2018-2019, the Virtual Learning Academy served approximately 13,000 students and close to 30,000 half-segment enrollments, making it one of the largest statewide virtual schools in the country.”

Bandwidth: “97.1% of students in New Hampshire 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. 5,075 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”

Personalized Learning:

The state is a leader in supporting a statewide transition to competency based education through passing legislation. In 2005, New Hampshire enacted regulations that now require all high schools to award credit based on mastery of required competencies, rather than seat time.

Since then, lawmakers have further amended these regulations to expand personalized learning environments by requiring that all districts provide extended learning opportunities to all students outside of the school building and the school day aligns with graduation competencies, ensuring that “students will be able to attain acknowledgement of achievement through mastery of district or graduation competencies for extended learning activities, including, but not limited to, independent study, private instruction, team sports, performing groups, internships, community service, and work study.”

The state is also reshaping what accountability and assessment looks like with the Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE) program, which decreases the use of standardized testing and instead uses teacher-developed assessments that focus on students’ understanding of content.

Learn More:

GenYES New Hampshire

Future Ready New Hampshire

Go Open

School Connectivity Initiative

Virtual Learning Academy Charter School

Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE)

COVID-19 Response

Gov. Sununu ordered school closures on March 16th. Within his announcement, Sununu required districts to submit remote learning plans within a week, which accelerated New Hampshire’s transition to remote learning.

New Hampshire quickly issued guidelines and resources for remote learning for students in response to the COVID-19 crisis. They encouraged districts to continue teaching all students despite logistical challenges, stating, “The district shall create a plan that shall include procedures for participation by all students. Academic work shall be equivalent in effort and rigor to typical classroom work. There shall be an assessment of all student work for the day.” The state also took steps to ensure students had access to devices and the internet and provided professional development opportunities. They also created a website with resources.

Overall, a strong response by the state and, therefore, a strong response by schools. Students continued learning in New Hampshire. Heading into the fall, reopening plans were left up to the discretion of districts, although the NH education department provided many resources.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

40%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

29%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

33%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

88%

Average SAT Score:

1050/1600

Average ACT Score:

25.7/36

Public School Enrollment:

170,005

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

2.4%

Average Student Funding:

$17,900.00
Digital & Personalized Learning
Digital Learning:

Score:

88%

Grade:

B

Rank:

#2

New Hampshire offers an abundance of programs, resources, grant programs, and support for school districts to transition into technology rich environments. A few examples of digital learning initiatives are:

GenYES New Hampshire is an initiative with the NHDOE and non-profit organization Generation YES to integrate educational technology into the classroom. There are 17 schools in the state that are participating and developing digital literacy skills. 

Future Ready New Hampshire has participating school districts utilizing digital learning as a part of their curriculum to prepare students for college and career. School districts participating are following the Future Ready Framework to refine the traditional curriculum and school structure. 

The Go Open program is a free digital library for educators to access openly licensed educational resources. Many school districts across the state are a part of the #GoOpen transition, and use high-quality OER digital content in the classroom. 

The New Hampshire School Connectivity Initiative is a collaboration between agencies to expand internet connectivity and broadband access in K-12 schools. 

The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School is a state virtual school that opened  in 2007. VLACS offers middle school, high school, and adult education courses where students can enroll full-time or part-time. “During 2018-2019, the Virtual Learning Academy served approximately 13,000 students and close to 30,000 half-segment enrollments, making it one of the largest statewide virtual schools in the country.”

Bandwidth: “97.1% of students in New Hampshire 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. 5,075 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”

Personalized Learning:

The state is a leader in supporting a statewide transition to competency based education through passing legislation. In 2005, New Hampshire enacted regulations that now require all high schools to award credit based on mastery of required competencies, rather than seat time.

Since then, lawmakers have further amended these regulations to expand personalized learning environments by requiring that all districts provide extended learning opportunities to all students outside of the school building and the school day aligns with graduation competencies, ensuring that “students will be able to attain acknowledgement of achievement through mastery of district or graduation competencies for extended learning activities, including, but not limited to, independent study, private instruction, team sports, performing groups, internships, community service, and work study.”

The state is also reshaping what accountability and assessment looks like with the Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE) program, which decreases the use of standardized testing and instead uses teacher-developed assessments that focus on students’ understanding of content.

Learn More:

GenYES New Hampshire

Future Ready New Hampshire

Go Open

School Connectivity Initiative

Virtual Learning Academy Charter School

Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE)

COVID-19 Response

Gov. Sununu ordered school closures on March 16th. Within his announcement, Sununu required districts to submit remote learning plans within a week, which accelerated New Hampshire’s transition to remote learning.

New Hampshire quickly issued guidelines and resources for remote learning for students in response to the COVID-19 crisis. They encouraged districts to continue teaching all students despite logistical challenges, stating, “The district shall create a plan that shall include procedures for participation by all students. Academic work shall be equivalent in effort and rigor to typical classroom work. There shall be an assessment of all student work for the day.” The state also took steps to ensure students had access to devices and the internet and provided professional development opportunities. They also created a website with resources.

Overall, a strong response by the state and, therefore, a strong response by schools. Students continued learning in New Hampshire. Heading into the fall, reopening plans were left up to the discretion of districts, although the NH education department provided many resources.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

40%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

29%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

33%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

88%

Average SAT Score:

1050/1600

Average ACT Score:

25.7/36

Public School Enrollment:

170,005

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

2.4%

Average Student Funding:

$17,900.00

Leadership

Your governor:

Chris Sununu (R)

First term began in 2017 (two year term; no term limit)

Governor Chris Sununu is a big supporter of innovation and opportunity but has to fight the sometimes parochial winds of small town New Hampshire communities to help more families have the options they want and need for their kids. With a growing national following, we’re hopeful Sununu will carry the baton for a bold new parent power agenda should his legislature be willing band members.

State Legislature:

We know that parent power should not be partisan but in this state it clearly is. Both chambers of the New Hampshire General  assembly which are in Democrat hands avoid  taking positive positions on education opportunity and innovation.  the governor’s signature recommendations to expand both are defeated regularly. Unless the Governor, like-minded legislators, and advocates do some major work, this will remain a low power state.

Constitutional Issues

“It is well established within New Hampshire case law that tax exemptions aimed at promoting education for all New Hampshire citizens but incidentally affecting religious institutions are constitutionally acceptable. The New Hampshire Supreme Court has not ruled on the constitutionality of vouchers under its Blaine Amendment, but it did suggest in a 1992 advisory opinion that they would violate the Blaine Amendment.” (Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: New Hampshire School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School report cards are not easily accessible from New Hampshire’s DOE homepage. Reports do not contain current data, the most recent is two years old. The data is displayed in charts and graphs that are not useful and hard to read.

Educational options are easily found on the main page, which boosts transparency in the state.

School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.

Leadership
Your governor:

Chris Sununu (R)

First term began in 2017 (two year term; no term limit)

Governor Chris Sununu is a big supporter of innovation and opportunity but has to fight the sometimes parochial winds of small town New Hampshire communities to help more families have the options they want and need for their kids. With a growing national following, we’re hopeful Sununu will carry the baton for a bold new parent power agenda should his legislature be willing band members.

State Legislature:

We know that parent power should not be partisan but in this state it clearly is. Both chambers of the New Hampshire General  assembly which are in Democrat hands avoid  taking positive positions on education opportunity and innovation.  the governor’s signature recommendations to expand both are defeated regularly. Unless the Governor, like-minded legislators, and advocates do some major work, this will remain a low power state.

Constitutional Issues

“It is well established within New Hampshire case law that tax exemptions aimed at promoting education for all New Hampshire citizens but incidentally affecting religious institutions are constitutionally acceptable. The New Hampshire Supreme Court has not ruled on the constitutionality of vouchers under its Blaine Amendment, but it did suggest in a 1992 advisory opinion that they would violate the Blaine Amendment.” (Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: New Hampshire School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School report cards are not easily accessible from New Hampshire’s DOE homepage. Reports do not contain current data, the most recent is two years old. The data is displayed in charts and graphs that are not useful and hard to read.

Educational options are easily found on the main page, which boosts transparency in the state.

School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, 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.