Headline of the Day
January 9, 2015Sunday Leftovers
January 11, 2015New Jersey Crops that Rare Bird: A Universally Popular Public School Choice Program
New Jersey has never been the go-to state for public school choice. Our public school infrastructure consists of almost 600 school districts, accessible only through ability to afford residency, along with a small cadre of public charter schools and a few magnet schools . But there’s one program that we have been really proud of: the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program (IPSCP). This program, which N.J. highlighted in its Race to the Top application as an emblem of our commitment to expanding school choice, allows students to attend schools outside district boundaries even if parents can’t afford to live there. Schools with extra seats, and the support of their administrators and school boards, apply to the DOE to host out-of-district students. The State kicks in $10,000 per pupil so that home districts are spared any fiscal burdens. Democrats, Republicans, NJEA, and NJ School Boards Association applaud newfound opportunities for families and students.
Or at least they used to. Last year the State capped the program, despite DOE regulations that direct otherwise, in order to limit costs. And now, according to today’s NJ Spotlight, there’s a new cap which isn’t in DOE regulations or legislation either: one that limits participation “to children from lower-performing schools or those with a demonstrated need.” NJ Education Commissioner David Hespe said that the current demand for participation in the program from both families and districts is “unsustainable.” Therefore the State must limit growth.
The head of the IPSCP Association, Valarie Smith, said, “Our Association would want to see what the DOE means by “need.” If that definition is configured just for students in failing school districts, we would oppose that. The number one reason for school choice, as documented by our own research and a survey conducted by the DOE, is environmental factors (like) bullying, my child needs a fresh start, my child doesn’t “fit in.”
There’s something to be said, though, for consistency (unless you ask Ralph Waldo Emerson, who called foolish ones the “hobgoblin of little minds”). During Gov. Christie’s last term and under Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf, the DOE decided to limit charter school authorization to districts with long records of failure. So this new direction for IPSCP continues the pattern of offering choice to children who have no other academic recourse. And, certainly, everyone understands the state’s inability to expand budget liabilities.
Yet still…a school choice program that attracts accolades from teachers, parents, children, legislators, administrators, and school board members. How rare is that? And at what marginal cost to a state school aid package of $9 billion? These caps may make for tidier balance sheets but strategically they’re a foolish mess.
3 Comments
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Wow. You talk about how great Interdistrict Choice is but you don't even mention how much it costs or how that cost growth was increasing exponentially prior to the caps being put into place?
I am not going to bother writing a long response to this, but not every Choice child has such a compelling story.
Many Choice students are there because their parents work in one town and their parents want their kids nearby.
“Dorey Bryan, of Lower Township, had previously paid tuition to send her children to the West Cape May School and was delighted that her son can now attend for free as a choice student. She works as an administrative assistant at the school and said while it’s very small, it just works for students who may have struggled in larger districts.”
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic/success-of-new-jersey-s-school-choice-program-creating-funding/article_80131366-c43a-11e3-a3ec-0019bb2963f4.html
Please tell me why it's such a compelling state interest that non-Choice districts (which are likely struggling with increased enrollment) should have their state aid taken away so that employees of the district can have their kids nearby?
Oh, what about Branchburg's wrestling superteam? Why don't you and Valerie Smith write about how awesome it is for the state to pay for top wrestlers to all go to the same high school?
Also, what is your basis for saying that Interdistrict Choice is “universally popular”?
There are fewer than 5,000 participating students. The Interdistrict Choice Facebook page has only 201 likes.
“Little known” would be a far more accurate description than “universally popular.”
The political economy of Interdistrict Choice is a classic concentrated benefits/diffuse costs situation. The taxpayers and students who are paying the costs of Interdistrict Choice would certainly not like this program if they knew about it and how it makes our unfair distribution of aid even worse.