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A purple state breakthrough on universal school choice

“North Carolina will become the 10th state in the nation to offer taxpayer-funded universal school choice,” writes T. Keung Hui for the Raleigh News & Observer. “The General Assembly gave final approval Friday on a new state budget that triples funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program and ends income restrictions for getting a private school voucher. Starting next school year, every family in the state can apply for a voucher to help pay for the cost of attending a K-12 private school.”

“Funding for the program would increase each year, reaching $520 million by 2032,” Linda Jacobson elaborates at The 74. “The program is expected to be the second largest in the nation, after Florida’s. The budget that included the plan passed 26 to 17 in the Senate and 70 to 40 in the House, with five Democrats crossing the aisle.  … The bill’s passage was the culmination of years of work for Marcus Brandon, a former Democratic state representative who considered himself a progressive and once thought vouchers were ‘evil.’ ‘My constituents are the ones that led me here. They’re the ones that talked about the lack of educational opportunities,’ said Brandon, who represented the Greensboro area until 2015. He’s now executive director of NorthCarolinaCAN, part of the 50CAN network.”

This is the first time a state without a Republican trifecta–control of both houses of the legislature and the governorship–passed a universal ESA, suggesting both a breakthrough for the school choice movement and a template for other purple states.

Marcus sat down with Marc in a video interview to discuss the victory, the importance of enduring advocacy campaigns and the families that motivated him to stay committed to the cause over the past decade.

“This is a victory for all kids,” Marcus shared. “I can give you an example of an LGBT kid who has been bullied and contemplated suicide. There are people who believe that the only kids who should have safe and healthy choices are those with money. This is for that LGBT kid. This is for Ms. Brown, who doesn’t have any money, whose kid has 3 Fs, 2 Ds and a C, already been suspended twice …Throughout my career, I’ve met tons of these families who have already benefited from these bills. And now, we’ve expanded that access to everyone.”

A family’s right to know starts with good information on student performance

One of the five promises in our Believe in Better policy framework is “a family’s right to know what’s working.” That includes both a right to know how “exactly how much money is being spent on your child and how those dollars are put to use” and a right to know “the performance of any educational choice you choose.”

Right now states are undermining these rights with vague budgets and ever longer release times for student achievement results.

Despite the fact that most students took these state tests back in the spring and have now been back in classrooms for weeks, states have only just begun the process of rolling out last year’s assessments. For those who have followed along with us as NAEP and NWEA scores were released, the news will not be surprising.

In New York, results have been delayed for the second year in a row, with New York City students receiving individual scores earlier this month but overall numbers still unreleased. Furthermore, state officials are telling parents that due to another round of changes to the tests they are not compatible with previous years’ results. Without releasing the state or district averages, parents are left to guess what their child’s results mean.

In New Mexico, the state is “months behind” in their release of state test results, which were expected by families last May. As of today, they’re still not available.

In Massachusetts, scores indicate students remain far below pre-pandemic achievement levels and for many students, schools and districts, did not improve at all despite interventions and the infusion of federal dollars.

In Oregon, the state test results were noted as “virtually identical to 2022’s abysmal outcomes” by the Oregonian.

Yet as Jenny Anderson reported in TIME, 90% of American parents believe their children are currently proficient in reading and mathematics. In short: our achievement information system is broken.

While states are sprinting ahead in giving families the ability to choose the education that’s right for them, they have stumbled out of the block in the work to ensure that parents have the timely and accurate information needed to make smart choices. In a rapidly changing system, it’s crucial that assessment and transparency grow alongside this expansion of choice.

Key Resources

The Fordham Institute published a bipartisan policy blueprint created by a committee of education reformers across the ideological spectrum including 50CAN’s Derrell Bradford and NewMexicoKidsCAN’s Amanda Aragon.

The 74 Million reports on the growing regulatory barriers that are being faced by pods and microschools as they attempt to expand and reach more students.

The Brookings Institution examines partisan divides over various strategies to support teacher recruitment, finding sharp divides between liberals and conservatives over ideas like a four-day school week.

New Scientist looks at the rise of “therapy speak” and asks whether it is doing more harm than good in schools.

The team behind The Yass Prize have announced their quarter-finalists. Congratulations from 50CAN to all of the awardees!

The Urban Institute’s Cary Lou looks at the impact on children from the sunsetting of pandemic-era expansions of the child tax credit and other emergency payment programs.

CRPE released their “State of the American Student” report, putting a spotlight on the vulnerable state of high schoolers.

FutureEd looks at the state of grade inflation in the US, finding that math is not immune from the trend.

New America explores how we can better support students who are parents.

The New York Times investigates a 30-point drop over the past decade in the percentage of high-school students who believe a college degree is “very important.”

Writing in Education Next, John Bailey argues that when it comes to AI “the fundamental task of policymakers and education leaders is to ensure that the technology is serving sound instructional practice.”