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  • 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

Wyoming

U.S.
Rank

#47
Overall PPI Score:
57.4%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to Wyoming state overview
A
B
C
D
F
  • Opportunity
  • Innovation
  • Policy Environment

Charter Schools

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#36

A new independent authorizer, the State Loan and Investment Board replaced the State Board of Education this year as the sole state authority, an improvement because it may be able to act more independent from the typical special interest group pressures that education bureaucracies endure. The new Board can only open 3 for now, but districts now have no cap on the number of schools they can start. They are still reluctant to charter, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1995

Most recently amended: 2021

Number of charter schools: 5

Number of charter students: 1,010 students (doubled from 500 in 2018)

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? No

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Local school districts are the only authorizer. Appeals for denied applications go to the state Board of Education. 

GROWTH: While student enrollment has doubled in the past two years, it’s still tiny even for a small state. Despite the lack of a cap, districts simply do not like chartering.

OPERATIONS: Charters do not receive a blanket waiver from typical rules and regulations that apply to traditional district schools. Instead, they are dependent on district authorizers and/or the State Board to exempt them from regulations. 

EQUITY: Wyoming law states that charter schools are entitled to 100 percent of the foundation program funding amount computed under state law, based on “average daily membership,” and 100 percent of the charter’s proportion of major maintenance payments. However, there is no way to hold districts accountable to this statute because while the law gives charters rights to equitable funding, it also mandates that charter schools and the district must agree on funding. As a result, charters are not funded equitably. Pre-K charter programs are funded under Wyoming’s law.

Learn More:

Wyoming Charter School Law

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

Score:

50%

Grade:

F

Rank:

#48

There are no choice programs in this state.

Fast Facts:
Choice Laws & Analysis:
Learn More:

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#46

“Wyoming does not have any state-approved alternate licensing programs,” nor requires objective student data to be a factor in teacher evaluation ratings. 

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 66%
General Teacher Preparation 58%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 95%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 65%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 58%
Alternate Routes 65%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 67%
Hiring 70%
Retaining Effective Teachers 63%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 59%
Teacher and Principal Evaluation

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 68%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Charter Schools

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#36

A new independent authorizer, the State Loan and Investment Board replaced the State Board of Education this year as the sole state authority, an improvement because it may be able to act more independent from the typical special interest group pressures that education bureaucracies endure. The new Board can only open 3 for now, but districts now have no cap on the number of schools they can start. They are still reluctant to charter, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1995

Most recently amended: 2021

Number of charter schools: 5

Number of charter students: 1,010 students (doubled from 500 in 2018)

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? No

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: Local school districts are the only authorizer. Appeals for denied applications go to the state Board of Education. 

GROWTH: While student enrollment has doubled in the past two years, it’s still tiny even for a small state. Despite the lack of a cap, districts simply do not like chartering.

OPERATIONS: Charters do not receive a blanket waiver from typical rules and regulations that apply to traditional district schools. Instead, they are dependent on district authorizers and/or the State Board to exempt them from regulations. 

EQUITY: Wyoming law states that charter schools are entitled to 100 percent of the foundation program funding amount computed under state law, based on “average daily membership,” and 100 percent of the charter’s proportion of major maintenance payments. However, there is no way to hold districts accountable to this statute because while the law gives charters rights to equitable funding, it also mandates that charter schools and the district must agree on funding. As a result, charters are not funded equitably. Pre-K charter programs are funded under Wyoming’s law.

Learn More:

Wyoming Charter School Law

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

Score:

50%

Grade:

F

Rank:

#48

There are no choice programs in this state.

Fast Facts:
Choice Laws & Analysis:
Learn More:

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#46

“Wyoming does not have any state-approved alternate licensing programs,” nor requires objective student data to be a factor in teacher evaluation ratings. 

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 66%
General Teacher Preparation 58%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 95%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 65%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 58%
Alternate Routes 65%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 67%
Hiring 70%
Retaining Effective Teachers 63%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 59%
Teacher and Principal Evaluation

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 68%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital & Personalized Learning

Digital Learning:

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#47

The Wyoming Department of Education has a few digital learning initiatives in place to expand opportunities for students. The WDOE has a statewide 2017-2021 Digital Learning Plan and Digital Education Guidelines, which are not mandatory for districts but a resource for guidance and digital learning support. To better carry out the digital learning plan, the state adopted The Future Ready Framework, and also offers teachers ISTE certification training so they can effectively integrate technology into their instruction. 

Other statewide programs to encourage digital learning are Open Range Wyoming, a state repository of Open Educational Resources that districts and schools can utilize for digital learning, the annual  K-12 Digital Learning Innovations Awards for educators granted on school, district, and statewide levels, and the Wyoming Innovations in Learning conference for educators to share digital learning practices. For more information, click here. 

Wyoming’s Uinta County School District #1 is a member of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, expanding digital learning opportunities to over 2,700 students. 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 Wyoming can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”

Personalized Learning:

The Wyoming Trust Fund for Innovation Education program gives schools flexibility for curriculum development and new models of learning, modified schedules and seat time, and technical and STEM education to prepare students for the labor market.

Learn More:

Wyoming Department of Education

The Future Ready Framework

League of Innovative Schools

Wyoming Trust Fund for Innovation Education

COVID-19 Response

Wyoming generally had excellent communications and encouragement for districts to continue instruction. As early as March 13th, the Wyoming Department of Education launched a COVID-19 resources website to support districts and issue guidance for remote learning. The Wyoming Public Service Commission prohibited the suspension of internet services or issuance of late fees by internet providers statewide. In March, the state waived certain statewide assessments, and required all districts to submit Adapted Learning Plans, which all 48 were approved by the WDOE by April 2nd.

“The Adapted Learning Plans include strategies to deliver a combination of virtual lessons, hard copy packets of assignments, phone calls, emails, and limited in-person instruction. Other aspects of plans include details for attendance, student progress, staff utilization, parent and community engagement, compliance with special education law, considerations for graduating seniors, and student privacy.”

WDOE had status check ins to ensure that Adapted Learning Plans were being implemented in districts and students were continuing to learn.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow stated “In the span of three weeks, the WDE and school districts worked together to build and approve these plans that will result in continued teaching and learning for more than 90,000 students and 20,000 staff in every school district across our state.”

July 1, he state also created a website with resources for families and schools and reopening guidelines, which includes a phased approach for districts to determine when and how to reopen for in-person instruction.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

45%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

32%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

38%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

31%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

82%

Average SAT Score:

1244/1600

Average ACT Score:

19.2/36

Public School Enrollment:

93,093

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

0.7%

Average Student Funding:

$16,698.00
Digital & Personalized Learning
Digital Learning:

Score:

65%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#47

The Wyoming Department of Education has a few digital learning initiatives in place to expand opportunities for students. The WDOE has a statewide 2017-2021 Digital Learning Plan and Digital Education Guidelines, which are not mandatory for districts but a resource for guidance and digital learning support. To better carry out the digital learning plan, the state adopted The Future Ready Framework, and also offers teachers ISTE certification training so they can effectively integrate technology into their instruction. 

Other statewide programs to encourage digital learning are Open Range Wyoming, a state repository of Open Educational Resources that districts and schools can utilize for digital learning, the annual  K-12 Digital Learning Innovations Awards for educators granted on school, district, and statewide levels, and the Wyoming Innovations in Learning conference for educators to share digital learning practices. For more information, click here. 

Wyoming’s Uinta County School District #1 is a member of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, expanding digital learning opportunities to over 2,700 students. 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 Wyoming can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”

Personalized Learning:

The Wyoming Trust Fund for Innovation Education program gives schools flexibility for curriculum development and new models of learning, modified schedules and seat time, and technical and STEM education to prepare students for the labor market.

Learn More:

Wyoming Department of Education

The Future Ready Framework

League of Innovative Schools

Wyoming Trust Fund for Innovation Education

COVID-19 Response

Wyoming generally had excellent communications and encouragement for districts to continue instruction. As early as March 13th, the Wyoming Department of Education launched a COVID-19 resources website to support districts and issue guidance for remote learning. The Wyoming Public Service Commission prohibited the suspension of internet services or issuance of late fees by internet providers statewide. In March, the state waived certain statewide assessments, and required all districts to submit Adapted Learning Plans, which all 48 were approved by the WDOE by April 2nd.

“The Adapted Learning Plans include strategies to deliver a combination of virtual lessons, hard copy packets of assignments, phone calls, emails, and limited in-person instruction. Other aspects of plans include details for attendance, student progress, staff utilization, parent and community engagement, compliance with special education law, considerations for graduating seniors, and student privacy.”

WDOE had status check ins to ensure that Adapted Learning Plans were being implemented in districts and students were continuing to learn.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow stated “In the span of three weeks, the WDE and school districts worked together to build and approve these plans that will result in continued teaching and learning for more than 90,000 students and 20,000 staff in every school district across our state.”

July 1, he state also created a website with resources for families and schools and reopening guidelines, which includes a phased approach for districts to determine when and how to reopen for in-person instruction.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

45%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

32%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

38%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

31%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

82%

Average SAT Score:

1244/1600

Average ACT Score:

19.2/36

Public School Enrollment:

93,093

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

0.7%

Average Student Funding:

$16,698.00

Leadership

Your governor:

Mark Gordon (R)

1st Term (Term Began in 2019)

Massive win for Governor Mark Gordon, who was first elected in 2019.  That said, hope springs eternal that a second term and a trifecta could lead to more options for families and a desire to push the envelope legislatively but it will take his strong leadership to help his lawmakers see the need for change in idyllic Wyoming.

State Legislature:

The House and Senate share the Governor’s party. They should be able to build consensus and enact meaningful changes but the power of school districts and school boards, which typically oppose choices and have little pressure to deploy meaningful innovation, keeps Wyoming schools looking the same as they have for over a century, and are unlikely to change without strong leadership.

Constitutional Issues

Wyoming’s constitution contains language that appears to explicitly forbid appropriating money to individuals for educational purposes.

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Wyoming School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

State report cards are easily accessible on Wyoming’s DOE homepage under the Data and Reporting tab, however school-level data is harder to find, and under a different site. Once found, school report cards are useful and contain data on enrollment, assessment, per-pupil spending, school performance, teacher quality, and school climate.

Educational options are not readily available from the Wyoming DOE homepage.

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:

Mark Gordon (R)

1st Term (Term Began in 2019)

Massive win for Governor Mark Gordon, who was first elected in 2019.  That said, hope springs eternal that a second term and a trifecta could lead to more options for families and a desire to push the envelope legislatively but it will take his strong leadership to help his lawmakers see the need for change in idyllic Wyoming.

State Legislature:

The House and Senate share the Governor’s party. They should be able to build consensus and enact meaningful changes but the power of school districts and school boards, which typically oppose choices and have little pressure to deploy meaningful innovation, keeps Wyoming schools looking the same as they have for over a century, and are unlikely to change without strong leadership.

Constitutional Issues

Wyoming’s constitution contains language that appears to explicitly forbid appropriating money to individuals for educational purposes.

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Wyoming School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

State report cards are easily accessible on Wyoming’s DOE homepage under the Data and Reporting tab, however school-level data is harder to find, and under a different site. Once found, school report cards are useful and contain data on enrollment, assessment, per-pupil spending, school performance, teacher quality, and school climate.

Educational options are not readily available from the Wyoming DOE homepage.

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.