PARENT CHOICE

WHAT IS HOME SCHOOLING?

Children educated at home

Parents concerned about traditional school environment

Provide religious or moral instruction

Dissatisfaction with public or private schools

HISTORY OF HOME SCHOOLING

Vast majority in early history were educated by parents

By 1850s formal classroom training was the norm

Movement reignited in 1960s

Many varieties of methods and materials

Unit Studies

All in one

Online instruction

Community resources

Unschooling and natural learning

Homeschool Cooperatives

HOW DO THEY OPERATE?

HIGHER EDUCATION

Use standardized tests

US Colleges have become more open to home school education students

Tend to vote more in elections

Well connected in their communities

On average outperform their

peers on standardized tests

ADVANTAGES

Some Europeans nations have outlawed the

practice

Not subject to No Child Left Behind

so test results are questioned

Opposition by the NEA

Some cases of unmonitored child abuse

DISADVANTAGES

WHAT IS A CHARTER SCHOOL?

A charter school is an independent public school that is governed by a group or organization that is in contract with the state to be given public money.

HOW IS THE CHARTER CREATED?

Charter schools are created by a small group of people in a community that submit a charter to start their own school in exchange for promising high academic results.

KEY FIGURES

Ray Budde

Massachusetts educator that first formed the idea of Charter Schools in 1974

Formed the idea that small groups of teachers should be allowed to construct contracts or charters in exchange for achievement results

Albert Shanker

American Federation of Teachers President Proposed to the National Press Club in 1988 the idea of

publicly funded schools that would gain increased flexibility in instruction in exchange for greater achievement

HISTORY• Philadelphia started the first charter type schools in the

late 1980s

• Minnesota was the first state to pass a law allowing charter schools in 1991

• Bluffview Montessori School was the first official charter school to open in 1992 in Winona, MN

• California was the second to pass a charter school law in 1992

NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.

2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Year

• Charter schools are primarily funded by taking per pupil state aid from the district where the student resides.

• Funding for charter schools is typically less than what a traditional public school receives.

• In 2007 MN charter schools only received approximately 98.5% of what was issued to the traditional public schools per pupil.

FUNDING

ADVANTAGES

Enhanced child centered learning Free

High standards and

accountability set by the charter

Smaller class sizes

Strong sense of community

Provide competition to

traditional public schools

DISADVANTAGES

Funding takes money away

from traditional schools

Less stability

Lower teacher attrition

Limited high school

availability

WHAT ARE VOUCHERS?

Vouchers are certificates issued by the government, which parents can apply toward tuition at a private school of their choice.

Intended to allow parents to choose school that best fits their child’s needs.

Redirects the flow of education funding.

DEBATE AT HAND• Public funds used to subsidize tuition for students to

attend private or religious institutions?

• Interpretation of federal and state constitutions?

• Criteria for applying to private schools?

• Public accountability for student performance?

• Extent of autonomy private schools enjoy?

HISTORY OF VOUCHERS

• 1792: Thomas Paine proposes plan for England

• 1950’s Southern schools concerned with desegregation

• 1980’s: Bush Administration fails to address major topics in education debate

• 1990: Bush Admin. Approves 6 National Education goals

unable to get approval largely because of vouchers

HISTORY OF VOUCHERS

• 1994: Republicans new conservative agenda

Key feature: school choice/ privatization

Dissatisfaction of parents

diversity v. diction affirmative action v. basics

VOUCHER TIMELINE 1990: Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

Country’s 1st school voucher program

1995: included private religious schools

1999: Florida Opportunity Program

1st statewide voucher program

Not limited to low-income

1999: Maine and Vermont

Used in rural areas unable to maintain a public H.S.

Could not be used for religious schools

ZELMAN V. SIMMON-HARRIS 2002 Supreme Court declared vouchers permissible under

Federal Establishment clause in Cleveland, Ohio

Permissible when used for a valid secular purpose

5 Chief Justices approved

3 state cases supported their approval (MN case)

4 Chief Justices dissented

Dramatic departure from prior church-state precedent

Everson v. Board of Education Ewing (1947)

CURRENT VOUCHER STATUS

2012: Obama Administration has not crossed the voucher debate line

Mitt Romney campaign:

Would support vouchers to introduce marketplace dynamics into education to drive academic gains

“I will expand parental choice in an unprecedented way. Families’ freedom to vote with their feet will hold schools responsible for results” (Romney, 2012).

8 states offer vouchers to students with special needs

ADVANTAGES

Better quality due to increased competition

Students in poorly performing public

schools have alternative

Increased involvement by

community makes program more

responsive

Allow low-income students wide

range of opportunities

Better education due to lack of bureaucracy

Parent decision results in

government not imposing religion

DISADVANTAGES

Diverting funds from public schools

weakens them

Misuse of public money due to lack of accountability in

private schools

Inadequate voucher amount:

low-income couldn’t go to

expensive private

Increase segregation along

socioeconomic lines

Allocation of gov’t funds violates separation of

church and state

Vouchers failed to improve standard

achievement significantly

GROUP CONSENSUS• The group decided in the end that we all support parent

choice in education.

• We fully support the choice of charter schooling and the use of vouchers as healthy competition to the traditional public school choice.

• Our support is unanimous for home schooling with reservation, however. Our concern lies in the lack of oversight and accountability.

REFERENCES Closing the Achievement Gap. (2004). Retrieved from http://

www.pbs.org/closingtheachievementgap/faq.html

Dizikes, P. (2001). Vouchers: What at Issue? Retrieved from http://absnew.go.com/Politics/vouchers-issues/story?id=121979&page=2

Frankenberg, E., Siegel-Hawley, G., & Wang, J. (2011). Choice without Equity: Charter School Segregation. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 19(1)

Daniel Golden (11 February 2000). "Home-Schooled Kids Defy Stereotypes, Ace SAT Test". The Wall Street Journal.

Jennings, J., & Center on Education, P. (2012). Reflections on a Half-Century of School Reform: Why Have We Fallen Short and Where Do We Go from Here?. Center On Education Policy

Lines, Patricia M.(2008) "Homeschooling". Kidsource

REFERENCESLips, Dan; Feinberg, Evan (2008-04-03). "Homeschooling: A Growing Option in American Education".

Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2008-08-15.

Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department. (2002). School Vouchers. Retrieved from htt://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/hrd.htm

National Center for Education Statistics. (2012) Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/

National Conference of State Legislature. (2012). Education Program Publicly Funded School Voucher Programs. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/educ/school-choice-vouchers.aspx

National Education Association. (2012). School Vouchers: The Emerging Track Record. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/bare/print.html?content=/bare/16970.htm

Reich, Rob, (2002), The civic perils of homeschooling,Journal: Educational Leadership (Alexandria)

REFERENCESRichwine, J., & Heritage, F. (2010). Charter Schools: A Welcome Choice for Parents. WebMemo. No.

2996. Heritage Foundation

Stride Academy. (2009) Retrieved from http://strideacademy.org/pages/Curriculum/

Trip, G. (2012). Vouchers Unspoken, Romney Hails School Choice. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/us/politics/in-romneys-voucher-education-policy-a-return-to-gop-roots.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Webb, L., Metha, A., & Jordan, K. (2010). Foundations of American Education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

WEISS, S. (2011). Charter Choice. State Legislatures, 37(8), 20.

Winnick, Pamela R. (2000-05-01). "Homeschooled students take unorthodox route to become top college candidates".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.