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PARENT POWER!

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  • 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

North Carolina

U.S.
Rank

#11
Overall PPI Score:
74.6%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to North Carolina state overview
A
B
C
D
F
  • Opportunity
  • Innovation
  • Policy Environment

Charter Schools

Score:

78%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#12

The Tarheel state has seen continued rollbacks of charter freedoms in recent years, as the status quo has attempted to stop a growing movement that many parents separately need in both city and rural communities. Despite union and school board opposition, parents remain committed to these innovative options.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1996

Most recently amended: 2017

Number of charter schools: 203

Number of charter students: 130,485

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? Yes, two are permitted through a pilot program

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: The State Board of Education is the final approver of charters, after an evaluation and recommendations by the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board which reviews all charter applications and makes recommendations to the state board, including on new schools, renewals, and denials.There is no appeals process for denied applications. 

GROWTH: Huge demand has been addressed through the addition of another 20 schools over 2 years, but waiting lists are still long. Despite no cap, however, the state board discourages applications and has been created an onerous “re-application” process. 

OPERATIONS: The state provides charters a blanket waiver from most state rules and regulations, but localities impose requirements on charter school boards that hinder autonomy. 

EQUITY: The law stipulates per-pupil funds equal to the district allocation where the charter is located, but those funds are often withheld in practice. Charter schools may also request appropriations directly from cities. Charters do not receive per pupil facilities funding.

Learn More:

North Carolina Charter School Law

NC Association for Public Charter Schools

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

Score:

70%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#9

Three choice efforts in the Tarheel state currently serve approximately 14,250 students, with potential to reach many more. 

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 2013-2017

Number of programs: 3

Statewide Participation: 14,219

Types of programs: Voucher , Education Savings Account

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Voucher
Opportunity Scholarships
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships program was launched in 2014. This program provides children from low-income households vouchers to attend a private school of their choice. Through this program, students can be awarded up to $4,200 per year. The program budget cap is $64.8 million, and there is no enrollment cap.

Voucher
Disabilities Grant Program
This private school voucher program began in 2014, to provide students with disabilities the opportunity to receive school vouchers for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. This program has no income limit or enrollment cap, and students can receive up to $4,000 per semester.

Education Savings Account
Personal Education Savings Accounts
North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Account program was enacted in 2017, and provides families with students with special needs funding to use for educational and therapeutic uses. This program awards students up to $9,000 per year, and has no income limits or enrollment caps.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on North Carolina

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

76%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#11

Student growth data not measured in NC teacher evaluation ratings; “Student growth is used to drive professional development, and for school, district, and state reporting.” Tenure is no longer offered to new teachers.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 75%
General Teacher Preparation 97%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 70%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 65%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 65%
Alternate Routes 80%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 65%
Hiring 70%
Retaining Effective Teachers 59%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 78%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 87%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Charter Schools

Score:

78%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#12

The Tarheel state has seen continued rollbacks of charter freedoms in recent years, as the status quo has attempted to stop a growing movement that many parents separately need in both city and rural communities. Despite union and school board opposition, parents remain committed to these innovative options.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1996

Most recently amended: 2017

Number of charter schools: 203

Number of charter students: 130,485

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? Yes, two are permitted through a pilot program

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: The State Board of Education is the final approver of charters, after an evaluation and recommendations by the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board which reviews all charter applications and makes recommendations to the state board, including on new schools, renewals, and denials.There is no appeals process for denied applications. 

GROWTH: Huge demand has been addressed through the addition of another 20 schools over 2 years, but waiting lists are still long. Despite no cap, however, the state board discourages applications and has been created an onerous “re-application” process. 

OPERATIONS: The state provides charters a blanket waiver from most state rules and regulations, but localities impose requirements on charter school boards that hinder autonomy. 

EQUITY: The law stipulates per-pupil funds equal to the district allocation where the charter is located, but those funds are often withheld in practice. Charter schools may also request appropriations directly from cities. Charters do not receive per pupil facilities funding.

Learn More:

North Carolina Charter School Law

NC Association for Public Charter Schools

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

Score:

70%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#9

Three choice efforts in the Tarheel state currently serve approximately 14,250 students, with potential to reach many more. 

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 2013-2017

Number of programs: 3

Statewide Participation: 14,219

Types of programs: Voucher , Education Savings Account

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Voucher
Opportunity Scholarships
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships program was launched in 2014. This program provides children from low-income households vouchers to attend a private school of their choice. Through this program, students can be awarded up to $4,200 per year. The program budget cap is $64.8 million, and there is no enrollment cap.

Voucher
Disabilities Grant Program
This private school voucher program began in 2014, to provide students with disabilities the opportunity to receive school vouchers for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. This program has no income limit or enrollment cap, and students can receive up to $4,000 per semester.

Education Savings Account
Personal Education Savings Accounts
North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Account program was enacted in 2017, and provides families with students with special needs funding to use for educational and therapeutic uses. This program awards students up to $9,000 per year, and has no income limits or enrollment caps.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on North Carolina

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

76%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#11

Student growth data not measured in NC teacher evaluation ratings; “Student growth is used to drive professional development, and for school, district, and state reporting.” Tenure is no longer offered to new teachers.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 75%
General Teacher Preparation 97%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 70%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 65%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 65%
Alternate Routes 80%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 65%
Hiring 70%
Retaining Effective Teachers 59%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 78%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 87%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital & Personalized Learning

Digital Learning:

Score:

78%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#14

For years, North Carolina has taken policy measures to expand digital learning to every student. In 2013, the state passed legislation for a statewide transition from traditional to digital textbooks for all schools by 2017. In 2015, The North Carolina Digital Learning Plan was published to give districts guidance for implementing technology in classrooms. The state also recently adopted new digital learning standards for students, which go into effect during the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers use the NC Digital Learning Competencies to ensure that they are effectively integrating digital teaching and learning in the classroom.

Other digital learning programs happening in the state include: Future Ready Schools initiative, piloting micro-credentialing and digital badges for teachers, promoting the use of open education resources with GoOpenNC, Digital Learning Initiative Grants, and tons of databases filled with high-quality digital resources for teachers to use. For more information, click here.

North Carolina Virtual Public School is the second largest statewide virtual school in the nation, with 32,000 students enrolled in 2019. Since the school opened in 2005, there have been over 193,000 course enrollments.  NCVPS exists as a supplement to brick-and-mortar schools, and offers a variety of online courses in many subject areas including world languages, advances placement, test preparation and credit recovery. 

Bandwidth: “100% of students in North Carolina can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”

Personalized Learning:

In 2016, North Carolina enacted legislation called Innovation School District and Innovation Zones (I-Zones) to increase student achievement through innovative practices and personalized learning. However, participation is limited to low-performing schools in the state. These schools must be approved by the State Board of Education, and then are managed under ISD by Innovative School Operators. 

The Digital Scholars Initiative was launched in 2018 from a collaboration between teachers and the non-profit organization Digital Learning Institute with the vision to expand innovation and personalized learning in schools across the state, particularly for students in low-income areas. Under this program, “digiLEARN developed and prepared seven master teachers to serve as Digital Scholars. The Scholars are master teachers who take on invaluable leadership roles at their school and district levels while remaining practicing classroom teachers. Scholars received release time, personalized professional development and extended employment so they could use their classrooms as learning labs, support other teachers with implementing personalized learning, and collaborate with other Scholars for development of best practices.”

There are currently five teacher Digital Scholars in Rowan Salisbury School districts, and two in Durham Public Schools. The program is currently aiming to expand into other districts across the state, and working with the  NC State Board of Education to make Digital Scholars a micro-credential.

Additionally, several NC school districts, many of them rural, participate in the Opportunity Culture Pilot. The Opportunity Culture Pilot is an initiative that spans across the U.S and implements personalized teaching models such as multi-classroom leadership and seat time flexibility.

Learn More:

North Carolina Virtual Public School

Innovation School District and Innovation Zones (I-Zones)

Digital Scholars Initiative

Opportunity Culture Pilot

COVID-19 Response

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, North Carolina quickly created a website to help students, parents and teachers be able to continue learning with updated information and resources here.

It also includes guidelines for districts developing comprehensive plans, strategies for schools deploying technology, a series of trainings for teachers, and instructional resources for building remote lesson plans.

On July 14,  the governor announced in-person instruction would be limited for the fall, but much of the decision-making is up to the districts. Districts can open for in-person instruction or choose all remote learning. They must provide a remote learning option for any child who chooses it if opting for in-person. Safety protocols such as fewer children in classrooms, social distancing, face coverings, and cleaning are specified by the state.

In early September, the state legislature passed a $1.1 billion Covid-19 relief package that includes an expansion of the state’s scholarship program for students from low-income households and an expansion of the state’s virtual charter schools.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

35%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

26%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

32%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

26%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

87%

Average SAT Score:

1136/1600

Average ACT Score:

18.5/36

Public School Enrollment:

1,525,223

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

7.5%

Average Student Funding:

$9,958.00
Digital & Personalized Learning
Digital Learning:

Score:

78%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#14

For years, North Carolina has taken policy measures to expand digital learning to every student. In 2013, the state passed legislation for a statewide transition from traditional to digital textbooks for all schools by 2017. In 2015, The North Carolina Digital Learning Plan was published to give districts guidance for implementing technology in classrooms. The state also recently adopted new digital learning standards for students, which go into effect during the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers use the NC Digital Learning Competencies to ensure that they are effectively integrating digital teaching and learning in the classroom.

Other digital learning programs happening in the state include: Future Ready Schools initiative, piloting micro-credentialing and digital badges for teachers, promoting the use of open education resources with GoOpenNC, Digital Learning Initiative Grants, and tons of databases filled with high-quality digital resources for teachers to use. For more information, click here.

North Carolina Virtual Public School is the second largest statewide virtual school in the nation, with 32,000 students enrolled in 2019. Since the school opened in 2005, there have been over 193,000 course enrollments.  NCVPS exists as a supplement to brick-and-mortar schools, and offers a variety of online courses in many subject areas including world languages, advances placement, test preparation and credit recovery. 

Bandwidth: “100% of students in North Carolina can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”

Personalized Learning:

In 2016, North Carolina enacted legislation called Innovation School District and Innovation Zones (I-Zones) to increase student achievement through innovative practices and personalized learning. However, participation is limited to low-performing schools in the state. These schools must be approved by the State Board of Education, and then are managed under ISD by Innovative School Operators. 

The Digital Scholars Initiative was launched in 2018 from a collaboration between teachers and the non-profit organization Digital Learning Institute with the vision to expand innovation and personalized learning in schools across the state, particularly for students in low-income areas. Under this program, “digiLEARN developed and prepared seven master teachers to serve as Digital Scholars. The Scholars are master teachers who take on invaluable leadership roles at their school and district levels while remaining practicing classroom teachers. Scholars received release time, personalized professional development and extended employment so they could use their classrooms as learning labs, support other teachers with implementing personalized learning, and collaborate with other Scholars for development of best practices.”

There are currently five teacher Digital Scholars in Rowan Salisbury School districts, and two in Durham Public Schools. The program is currently aiming to expand into other districts across the state, and working with the  NC State Board of Education to make Digital Scholars a micro-credential.

Additionally, several NC school districts, many of them rural, participate in the Opportunity Culture Pilot. The Opportunity Culture Pilot is an initiative that spans across the U.S and implements personalized teaching models such as multi-classroom leadership and seat time flexibility.

Learn More:

North Carolina Virtual Public School

Innovation School District and Innovation Zones (I-Zones)

Digital Scholars Initiative

Opportunity Culture Pilot

COVID-19 Response

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, North Carolina quickly created a website to help students, parents and teachers be able to continue learning with updated information and resources here.

It also includes guidelines for districts developing comprehensive plans, strategies for schools deploying technology, a series of trainings for teachers, and instructional resources for building remote lesson plans.

On July 14,  the governor announced in-person instruction would be limited for the fall, but much of the decision-making is up to the districts. Districts can open for in-person instruction or choose all remote learning. They must provide a remote learning option for any child who chooses it if opting for in-person. Safety protocols such as fewer children in classrooms, social distancing, face coverings, and cleaning are specified by the state.

In early September, the state legislature passed a $1.1 billion Covid-19 relief package that includes an expansion of the state’s scholarship program for students from low-income households and an expansion of the state’s virtual charter schools.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

35%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

26%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

32%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

26%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

87%

Average SAT Score:

1136/1600

Average ACT Score:

18.5/36

Public School Enrollment:

1,525,223

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

7.5%

Average Student Funding:

$9,958.00

Leadership

Your governor:

Roy Cooper (D)

First term began in 2017 (two-term limit)

Governor Roy Cooper was the teachers unions number one choice and they worked hard to put him in office. While he continues his opposition to charter schools and choice ad vetoed a bill that would have increased enrollment at two virtual charter schools and even proposed to end the NC Opportunity Scholarship program which has provided options for children of low-income households since 2014,  he did sign into law in September 2020, a bill that provided emergency relief and expansion of all options in the state given the critical nature of schools during Covid. On that he did not have much choice.

State Legislature:

The state legislature is pro-parent power and will have to show strong leadership, with help from advocates in the state, to overcome the hostile governor. The state’s legislature has shown leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting students instead of systems by expanding access to the state’s opportunity scholarship program. The COVID relief package also gave smaller grants to support parents whose kids are working from home.

Constitutional Issues

“The North Carolina Constitution does not have a Blaine Amendment or a Compelled Support Clause, and state cases look to federal Establishment Clause precedent. In 2014, The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the new Opportunity Scholarship program [similar to a voucher] against a challenge under North Carolina’s education article and public purpose article.”(Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: North Carolina School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School and district report cards are easily accessible and highlighted on the main page of North Carolina DOE website. Report cards are easy to navigate, and data is formatted nicely in easy to read tables and charts. Reports include a summative rating at the top, and also displays the school’s performance grade score history, and academic growth history dating back to school year 2014 which is a nice added feature. Educational options are also easily accessible from the main page.

School board elections are during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.

Leadership
Your governor:

Roy Cooper (D)

First term began in 2017 (two-term limit)

Governor Roy Cooper was the teachers unions number one choice and they worked hard to put him in office. While he continues his opposition to charter schools and choice ad vetoed a bill that would have increased enrollment at two virtual charter schools and even proposed to end the NC Opportunity Scholarship program which has provided options for children of low-income households since 2014,  he did sign into law in September 2020, a bill that provided emergency relief and expansion of all options in the state given the critical nature of schools during Covid. On that he did not have much choice.

State Legislature:

The state legislature is pro-parent power and will have to show strong leadership, with help from advocates in the state, to overcome the hostile governor. The state’s legislature has shown leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting students instead of systems by expanding access to the state’s opportunity scholarship program. The COVID relief package also gave smaller grants to support parents whose kids are working from home.

Constitutional Issues

“The North Carolina Constitution does not have a Blaine Amendment or a Compelled Support Clause, and state cases look to federal Establishment Clause precedent. In 2014, The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the new Opportunity Scholarship program [similar to a voucher] against a challenge under North Carolina’s education article and public purpose article.”(Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: North Carolina School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School and district report cards are easily accessible and highlighted on the main page of North Carolina DOE website. Report cards are easy to navigate, and data is formatted nicely in easy to read tables and charts. Reports include a summative rating at the top, and also displays the school’s performance grade score history, and academic growth history dating back to school year 2014 which is a nice added feature. Educational options are also easily accessible from the main page.

School board elections are during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher 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.