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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

Utah

U.S.
Rank

#10
Overall PPI Score:
75.5%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to Utah state overview
A
B
C
D
F
  • Opportunity
  • Innovation
  • Policy Environment

Charter Schools

Score:

82%

Grade:

B

Rank:

#10

While funding is tenuous each year, the environment for chartering in the Beehive state has grown increasingly open, with a number of innovative and successful programs serving students throughout the state.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1998

Most recently amended: 2019

Number of charter schools: 137

Number of charter students: 77,786

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No but depending on annual budgets.

Virtual charters allowed? Yes

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Local school boards, universities, and the State Charter School Board (SCSB), which is the statewide authorizer. The SCSB authorizes most charter schools in the state — 120 of the 134 total. Two universities currently authorize – Weber State University and Davis Applied Technical College. The law requires local universities to receive final authorization from the state board of education.  Local boards are allowed to provide input on applications from their district to the SCSB.  The SCSB and the local district board are allowed input into applications to university authorizers.  The SCSB operates semi-autonomously from the State Board of Education, which means it is not as vulnerable to political pressure. 

GROWTH: The state does not cap the number of charter schools allowed, but it does cap the number of students allowed to enroll in charter schools. The state board of education can approve increases in charter school capacity, but the legislature must appropriate funds in the budget for the increase. Any arbitrary limitation on the number of students who can attend charter schools denies families opportunities.

OPERATIONS: Schools must apply for a waiver from the state to operate free from regulations, placing a burden on schools to wade through copious rules for their requests. Legislation passed here in 2019 allows charter schools to provide an enrollment preference for children of military.

EQUITY: The state provides operating funds for charters, but those funds are subject to budget fluctuations. This means that charters normally operate with less funding than district schools. 

The law stipulates a local replacement fund for local property tax amounts that district schools receive. The amount of the local replacement fund is tied to increases the legislature and local districts implement either as property tax raises or as state guarantees to local property taxes. The program requires that at least 10% of local funding must be spent on facilities. Charter schools are also entitled to all applicable federal funding.

Learn More:

Utah Charter School Law

Utah Association of Public Charter Schools

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

Score:

68%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#13

The Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program signed into law in April 2020 was expanded in spring 2022 to include eligibility for siblings of children with special needs scholarships.The expansion reiterates the state’s emphasis that special needs students will always be a priority, and families no longer have to choose between sibling support and educational opportunities for their children. The 2022 expansion allows eligibility to include qualifying students (siblings of students with disabilities) to be scholarship recipients. This victory for equity in choice builds upon Utah’s first special needs scholarship program, which was adopted in 2005.

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 2005

Number of programs: 2

Statewide Participation: 907

Types of programs: Voucher and Scholarship Tax Credit

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Voucher
Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program
The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program launched in 2005 serves 907 students. Under this program, students with specific special needs are eligible to receive private school vouchers to attend private schools. There is no income limit for eligibility, and the program does not have an enrollment cap. A low budget cap of approximately $6.6 million per year limits participation.

Tax-Credit Scholarship
Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program
Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program was launched in 2021. This program provides 100% tax credit to individuals contributing to scholarship-granting organizations that provide scholarships for students with special needs. In 2022, The Utah Governor signed a law that expands the state’s existing special needs ESA to include siblings of children with special needs scholarships. The Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship was designed to help families of special needs students fund an education that works for the student. But a problem existed. The families could not afford to send the siblings of these students to the same school. The state thus expanded eligibility to include qualifying siblings to be scholarship recipients. Today less than 1% of students participate in one of Utah’s private educational choice options (including the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program) and 13% of students statewide are eligible.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on Utah

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

77%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#6

Utah has rigorous content test requirements for prospective elementary teachers; licensure eligibility is based on passing four subtests in math, reading and language arts, science, and social studies.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 67%
General Teacher Preparation 72%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 78%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 63%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 65%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 75%
Hiring 75%
Retaining Effective Teachers 75%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 80%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 72%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Charter Schools

Score:

82%

Grade:

B

Rank:

#10

While funding is tenuous each year, the environment for chartering in the Beehive state has grown increasingly open, with a number of innovative and successful programs serving students throughout the state.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1998

Most recently amended: 2019

Number of charter schools: 137

Number of charter students: 77,786

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No but depending on annual budgets.

Virtual charters allowed? Yes

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Local school boards, universities, and the State Charter School Board (SCSB), which is the statewide authorizer. The SCSB authorizes most charter schools in the state — 120 of the 134 total. Two universities currently authorize – Weber State University and Davis Applied Technical College. The law requires local universities to receive final authorization from the state board of education.  Local boards are allowed to provide input on applications from their district to the SCSB.  The SCSB and the local district board are allowed input into applications to university authorizers.  The SCSB operates semi-autonomously from the State Board of Education, which means it is not as vulnerable to political pressure. 

GROWTH: The state does not cap the number of charter schools allowed, but it does cap the number of students allowed to enroll in charter schools. The state board of education can approve increases in charter school capacity, but the legislature must appropriate funds in the budget for the increase. Any arbitrary limitation on the number of students who can attend charter schools denies families opportunities.

OPERATIONS: Schools must apply for a waiver from the state to operate free from regulations, placing a burden on schools to wade through copious rules for their requests. Legislation passed here in 2019 allows charter schools to provide an enrollment preference for children of military.

EQUITY: The state provides operating funds for charters, but those funds are subject to budget fluctuations. This means that charters normally operate with less funding than district schools. 

The law stipulates a local replacement fund for local property tax amounts that district schools receive. The amount of the local replacement fund is tied to increases the legislature and local districts implement either as property tax raises or as state guarantees to local property taxes. The program requires that at least 10% of local funding must be spent on facilities. Charter schools are also entitled to all applicable federal funding.

Learn More:

Utah Charter School Law

Utah Association of Public Charter Schools

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

Score:

68%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#13

The Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program signed into law in April 2020 was expanded in spring 2022 to include eligibility for siblings of children with special needs scholarships.The expansion reiterates the state’s emphasis that special needs students will always be a priority, and families no longer have to choose between sibling support and educational opportunities for their children. The 2022 expansion allows eligibility to include qualifying students (siblings of students with disabilities) to be scholarship recipients. This victory for equity in choice builds upon Utah’s first special needs scholarship program, which was adopted in 2005.

Fast Facts:

Law enacted: 2005

Number of programs: 2

Statewide Participation: 907

Types of programs: Voucher and Scholarship Tax Credit

Choice Laws & Analysis:

Voucher
Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program
The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program launched in 2005 serves 907 students. Under this program, students with specific special needs are eligible to receive private school vouchers to attend private schools. There is no income limit for eligibility, and the program does not have an enrollment cap. A low budget cap of approximately $6.6 million per year limits participation.

Tax-Credit Scholarship
Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program
Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program was launched in 2021. This program provides 100% tax credit to individuals contributing to scholarship-granting organizations that provide scholarships for students with special needs. In 2022, The Utah Governor signed a law that expands the state’s existing special needs ESA to include siblings of children with special needs scholarships. The Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship was designed to help families of special needs students fund an education that works for the student. But a problem existed. The families could not afford to send the siblings of these students to the same school. The state thus expanded eligibility to include qualifying siblings to be scholarship recipients. Today less than 1% of students participate in one of Utah’s private educational choice options (including the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program) and 13% of students statewide are eligible.

Learn More:

EdChoice Analysis on Utah

Federation for Children Choice Program Information

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

77%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#6

Utah has rigorous content test requirements for prospective elementary teachers; licensure eligibility is based on passing four subtests in math, reading and language arts, science, and social studies.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 67%
General Teacher Preparation 72%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 78%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 63%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 65%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 75%
Hiring 75%
Retaining Effective Teachers 75%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 80%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 72%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital & Personalized Learning

Digital Learning:

Score:

78%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#16

Utah is a leader in promoting and understanding what is necessary for digital education. The Utah Education Network provides free digital tools, instructional materials, and professional development to Pre-K Education, Higher Education, and Career Education in the state.

The Utah Education and Telehealth Network commissioned Connected Nation to do an independent analysis for the state legislature every two years. The January 2020 version is here, and includes a wealth of information for districts, including the device-to-student ratio, wifi access and speed, whether school networks were professionally engineered, and technology support offered by the schools.

In 2011, legislation created the Statewide Online Education Program, allowing public, private, and homeschooled high school students to take online courses for graduation credit. In 2012 the Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL) initiative was launched out of collaboration between school districts and the state, resulting in Utah’s Master Plan: Essential Elements for Technology Powered Learning, grant programs and various software initiatives to support literacy growth. 

Utah’s Juab School District and Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, expanding digital learning opportunities to over 5,000 students across the state. 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: 100% of students in Utah can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.

Personalized Learning:

Utah has expanded Competency- Based Education through policy measures, grant programs, and the Competency- Based Education Framework. The state encourages new models of learning that advances students based on mastery of content, not seat time.

Utah is currently developing Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate, which is set to move to implementation by 2021. The Portrait of a Graduate identifies critical competencies for high school graduates such as digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and collaboration.

Learn More:

Utah Education Network

Utah Education and Telehealth Network

Statewide Online Education Program

Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL)

League of Innovative Schools

Competency- Based Education

Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate

COVID-19 Response

On March 13, Gov. Hebert closed schools temporarily in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak, and on April 14 announced they would remain closed for the duration of the school year. Utah worked to ensure students could continue learning while school buildings were closed. The state provided planning resources and tools for teachers, and took steps to ensure students had access to the internet. A new website with information and resources for students, parents, teachers, and administrators is here.

On June 29, the governor approved the state board of education’s reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year, and guidelines are on the state education department website, and are thorough and easy to understand. Districts determined reopening plans and were required to submit them to the state by August 1, but the state board did not have an approval process. All district plans are posted on the website for parents to view. Schools are encouraged to provide in-person instruction, and most districts offer both in-person and virtual, or a combination of the two.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

42%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

34%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

36%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

87%

Average SAT Score:

1233/1600

Average ACT Score:

19.9/36

Public School Enrollment:

690,934

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

11.3%

Average Student Funding:

$8,366.00
Digital & Personalized Learning
Digital Learning:

Score:

78%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#16

Utah is a leader in promoting and understanding what is necessary for digital education. The Utah Education Network provides free digital tools, instructional materials, and professional development to Pre-K Education, Higher Education, and Career Education in the state.

The Utah Education and Telehealth Network commissioned Connected Nation to do an independent analysis for the state legislature every two years. The January 2020 version is here, and includes a wealth of information for districts, including the device-to-student ratio, wifi access and speed, whether school networks were professionally engineered, and technology support offered by the schools.

In 2011, legislation created the Statewide Online Education Program, allowing public, private, and homeschooled high school students to take online courses for graduation credit. In 2012 the Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL) initiative was launched out of collaboration between school districts and the state, resulting in Utah’s Master Plan: Essential Elements for Technology Powered Learning, grant programs and various software initiatives to support literacy growth. 

Utah’s Juab School District and Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, expanding digital learning opportunities to over 5,000 students across the state. 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: 100% of students in Utah can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.

Personalized Learning:

Utah has expanded Competency- Based Education through policy measures, grant programs, and the Competency- Based Education Framework. The state encourages new models of learning that advances students based on mastery of content, not seat time.

Utah is currently developing Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate, which is set to move to implementation by 2021. The Portrait of a Graduate identifies critical competencies for high school graduates such as digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and collaboration.

Learn More:

Utah Education Network

Utah Education and Telehealth Network

Statewide Online Education Program

Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL)

League of Innovative Schools

Competency- Based Education

Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate

COVID-19 Response

On March 13, Gov. Hebert closed schools temporarily in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak, and on April 14 announced they would remain closed for the duration of the school year. Utah worked to ensure students could continue learning while school buildings were closed. The state provided planning resources and tools for teachers, and took steps to ensure students had access to the internet. A new website with information and resources for students, parents, teachers, and administrators is here.

On June 29, the governor approved the state board of education’s reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year, and guidelines are on the state education department website, and are thorough and easy to understand. Districts determined reopening plans and were required to submit them to the state by August 1, but the state board did not have an approval process. All district plans are posted on the website for parents to view. Schools are encouraged to provide in-person instruction, and most districts offer both in-person and virtual, or a combination of the two.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

42%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

34%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

36%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

87%

Average SAT Score:

1233/1600

Average ACT Score:

19.9/36

Public School Enrollment:

690,934

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

11.3%

Average Student Funding:

$8,366.00

Leadership

Your governor:

Spencer Cox (R)

First term began in 2021 (no term limit)

Governor Spencer Cox, won the Beehive State.  In January 2021, he stated, “We need to unleash innovation, we need to cut regulation and let the entrepreneurs in the classroom do their thing — those are our teachers and students learning together.”  Let’s keep an eye on Utah!

 

State Legislature:

A Republican majority legislature, members are generally pro-ed opportunity with strong advocates in leadership in both chambers. The state board is elected and appoints the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Overall, the environment for trusting parents here is favorable. With 12% of public school students attending charter schools, families are exercising choice and deserve to have even more.

 

Constitutional Issues

The state has a Blaine Amendment but it does not limit the ability of students to “use publicly funded scholarships to attend private, religious or public schools of their choice.” (Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Utah School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

Utah gives parents access to a lot of data. Report cards are easily accessible in two clicks on Utah’s DOE homepage by clicking Data Gateway. The report card is well-formatted, however it focuses mainly on student enrollment and performance, lacking important information on teacher quality and school climate.

Educational options are easily accessed under the Students and Families tab.

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:

Spencer Cox (R)

First term began in 2021 (no term limit)

Governor Spencer Cox, won the Beehive State.  In January 2021, he stated, “We need to unleash innovation, we need to cut regulation and let the entrepreneurs in the classroom do their thing — those are our teachers and students learning together.”  Let’s keep an eye on Utah!

 

State Legislature:

A Republican majority legislature, members are generally pro-ed opportunity with strong advocates in leadership in both chambers. The state board is elected and appoints the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Overall, the environment for trusting parents here is favorable. With 12% of public school students attending charter schools, families are exercising choice and deserve to have even more.

 

Constitutional Issues

The state has a Blaine Amendment but it does not limit the ability of students to “use publicly funded scholarships to attend private, religious or public schools of their choice.” (Institute for Justice)

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Utah School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

Utah gives parents access to a lot of data. Report cards are easily accessible in two clicks on Utah’s DOE homepage by clicking Data Gateway. The report card is well-formatted, however it focuses mainly on student enrollment and performance, lacking important information on teacher quality and school climate.

Educational options are easily accessed under the Students and Families tab.

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.