Pre-K and Charter Schools: Where State Policies Create Barriers to Collaboration Sara Mead Virginia Commission on Youth October 2015
Agenda Overview Key Barriers Recommendations 2
Overview Nationally, the number of charter schools and students has grown rapidly over the past 15 years Number of Charter Schools and Student Enrollment by Year # students, in millions # schools 3.5 8,000 6.7K 2.9M students Students Schools 7,000 3.0 6,000 2.5 5,000 2.0 4,000 1.5 0.35M students 3,000 1.0 1.5K 2,000 0.5 1,000 0.0 0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 % of all students .7% 1% 1.2% 1.4% 1.6% 1.8% 2.1% 2.4% 2.6% 2.9% 3.3% 3.7% 4.2% 4.6% 5.1% 5.8% nationally Sources: NAPCS National Data, 1999-2014; NCES 2013, 2014. 3
Overview Pre-k enrollment has also expanded rapidly Student Enrollment in State Pre-K by Year # students, in millions 1.5 1.4 1.35M 1.34M 1.33M 1.32M 1.29M 1.3 1.21M 1.2 1.13M 1.1 1.01M 1.0 943K 0.9 802K 0.8 740K 700K 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 4
Overview Both state-funded pre-k and charter schools disproportionately benefit low-income children Most state pre-k programs were created to Urban charter schools create greatest gains for narrow achievement gaps for at-risk children black, ELL, and low-income students Mathematics Reading • Learning gaps for low-income children emerge as early as 9 months of age All Black Hispanic White ELL SWD Poverty 51 • By age 3, children in poverty have heard 30 million fewer words than their more affluent 40 peers 36 30 • Between 1/3-1/2 of the achievement gap exists 28 26 24 22 before children enter kindergarten 17 13 9 But quality preschool can narrow 6 these gaps • Research on universal pre-k programs in Oklahoma shows that all children can benefit -14 from pre-k but that children in poverty and English language learners reap the greatest benefit, narrowing achievement gaps -36 Note: ELL: English language learners. SWD: students with disabilities. Poverty: Students who are eligible for free- or reduced-price meals. 5 Sources: CREDO National Charter School Study (2013), CREDO Urban Charter School Study (2015).
Overview But most states are missing the opportunity to combine pre-k and charter schools to benefit students 6
Overview Virginia has a moderately well-developed pre-k program, but a very weak charter law and sector Virginia Preschool Initiative Charter schools in Virginia Year created Launched in 1995 Charter law enacted in 1998 Children in 207,218 3- and 4-year-olds in 1,543,443 school-age children in state Virginia Virginia 17,295 children served 725 students served Children 0 percent of 3-year-olds .05 percent of school-age children served 17 percent of 4-year-olds 6 charter schools Charters No charter schools in Virginia 2 charter schools in Virginia offer offering pre-k offer pre-k. elementary programs Districts receive $3,000 to $6,000 Charter schools receive $10,969 Funding per pupil to offer VPI per pupil to serve K-12 students 7
Overview While most states have some charter schools offering pre-k work, Virginia has none Kansas California Among states with both state-funded Ohio Colorado pre-k and charter schools laws: Virginia Connecticut Washington Florida Illinois Louisiana No charter schools in the 4 Maine state serve preschoolers Maryland Alaska Massachusetts Arizona Michigan Less than 20 percent of Arkansas Minnesota 15 charter schools in the state Delaware Tennessee Georgia serve preschoolers Indiana Missouri Between 20 and 50 percent Nevada 12 of charter schools in the New Jersey state serve preschoolers New Mexico New York D.C. North Carolina More than 50 percent of Iowa Pennsylvania 5 charter schools in the state Oklahoma Rhode Island Texas serve preschoolers South Carolina Wisconsin 8
Agenda Overview Key Barriers Recommendations 9
Key Barriers In the majority of states, charters face numerous barriers to accessing state pre-k funding Charters are prohibited from offering pre-k based on writing or 1 interpretation of statute, regulation, or agency policy 2 Few state-funded pre-k program slots 3 Low per-pupil funding for state-funded pre-k Charters are prohibited, in legislation or practice, from automatically 4 enrolling pre-k students into kindergarten 5 Barriers in the application, approval, or funding processes 10
Key Barriers Policy, size, and funding barriers prevent charter schools from accessing state-funded pre-k Statutory, regulatory, Arizona Illinois Ohio 9 Delaware Indiana Pennsylvania or agency policy Georgia North Carolina Washington prohibitions Alaska Massachusetts Ohio 12 Small state-funded Arizona Minnesota Pennsylvania Delaware Missouri Rhode Island pre-k program Indiana Nevada Washington Alaska New York Arkansas Louisiana North Carolina California Maryland Ohio 22 Low per-pupil pre-k Colorado Massachusetts Pennsylvania Florida Michigan South Carolina funding Georgia Minnesota Tennessee Illinois Nevada Virginia New Mexico Washington 11
Key Barriers Practical barriers also limit charter access to state pre-k funds Local district Alaska Kansas South Carolina 9 monopoly on pre-k Colorado Maryland Tennessee Iowa Ohio Virginia funding Allocation decisions California Illinois New Jersey 9 privilege existing Delaware Kansas North Carolina providers over new Georgia Louisiana Pennsylvania providers Automatic Arizona Indiana Ohio 10 enrollment from pre- Delaware Missouri Virginia k into kindergarten Illinois New Jersey Washington North Carolina is prohibited 12
Key Barriers Four key barriers prevent charter schools from serving pre-k students in Virginia Size of Sector Application Process Charter schools interested in There are few charter schools in the state, which limits how offering VPI can only do so by contracting with localities that much charter schools can receive VPI funding serve as pre-k providers Funding Automatic Enrollment Per-pupil funding for VPI is low Charter schools that contract with • 27 percent for half-day VPI a locality to offer VPI are not • 56 percent for full-day VPI permitted to grant enrollment preference to pre-k students 13
Key Barriers Yet despite these barriers, in certain states it’s relatively easy for charters to serve preschoolers Washington, D.C. Wisconsin Oklahoma Michigan Texas Florida 14
Agenda Overview Key Barriers Recommendations 15
Recommendations State policymakers must play a significant role if states are to increase charter access to state pre-k funding Consider how state pre-k , charter , and school finance policies interact Include pre-k in the state definition of what charter schools do State Policymakers Ensure that charter schools have equal access to state pre-k funds Require districts that offer widespread pre-k to transfer funding to charters for each district student enrolling in the charter pre-k Allow charters with public pre-k to automatically enroll their pre-k students into kindergarten Collect better data on charter schools that offer pre-K and on charter school participation in pre-k programs Increase authorizers’ role in overseeing charter pre-k programs 16
Pre-K and Charter Schools: Where State Policies Create Barriers to Collaboration
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