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Fighting student absenteeism in Ohio
The Ohio Attendance Taskforce, whose members included DECA Superintendent and CEO Dave Taylor, last week released their findings and recommendations to fight chronic absenteeism among students across the state. Those recommendations focus on all players—schools, families, community organizations, and state policymakers—working together in a concerted effort to improve student attendance. You can read their full report here.
Enrollment growth continues
Charter school enrollment showed strong growth across the country in recent years, following a big boost in the wake of pandemic education disruption. This according to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service. Among other data points of interest: Florida, Arizona, and Idaho led the way in enrollment increases, with charters in the Sunshine State rising from 10.4 percent of public school enrollment in 2017 to 13.3 percent in 2022. Traditional district schools in those states showed a similar—and likely-related—decline in enrollment over the same time.
Legal wrangling resumes
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit last week in the state Supreme Court to stop the establishment of what would be the first religiously-affiliated charter school in the country, arguing that the entity would violate both the state and U.S. constitutions. His action follows the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s approval of a contract to launch the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
More research worth reading
The National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) released a first-of-its-kind look at how charter school regulation varies across states, and how those regulations relate to a variety of important outcomes. For just two examples: States with no charter caps, multiple charter authorizers, and more robust contract renewal standards have higher charter market shares. However, states with no charter caps also have lower student achievement growth. States with more equitable funding—that is, closer to parity with traditional districts—have higher student achievement growth. Fascinating stuff. You can read a policy brief version of the report here, and the technical report here.
Innovation vs. regulation
Student achievement is also the focus of one more new study to note this week, by authors including Jay Greene and Corey DeAngelis. They look at the regulatory environment in which various charters operate—quantifying a continuum of governmental oversight from loose to tight—as compared to the innovation level—quantified based on observations of pedagogy, curriculum, targeted student populations, setting, and themes—and seeing how the interplay of those two forces impact school structure and growth. The authors contend that tighter regulation stifles innovation, leading to a smaller charter sector narrowly focused on student achievement while looser regulation allows for a more robust sector with more innovative teaching and learning models available. The full report is here, while a somewhat contrary analysis of the methodology and findings is here.
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