May 2023 Outlook

May 2023 | Number 485

Congress's "Watchdog" Issues Report on Equitable Services

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report titled “Additional Guidance Could Improve the Equitable Services Process for School Districts and Private Schools.” The GAO study was requested by U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

See the Key Findings Summarized Here >>

U.S. Department of Education Releases Updated Title I Guidance

The U.S. Department of Education has updated its guidance on Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The Department updated three questions from its previously existing guidance: A-9, B-11, and B-13. It also added two new questions: B-11a and B-11b.

The updates reinforce the requirement for meaningful and timely consultation with private schools on the part of LEAs. The updated guidance clarifies that there is substantial flexibility in what methods can be used to identify eligible children and explains the options other than the home income survey.

School leaders can read the updates here.

After Years of Trying, School Choice Comes to Nebraska

On May 30, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed tax credit scholarship legislation into law, creating the state's first school choice program. According to a press release from the governor's office, "LB753 commits $50 million in tax credits for scholarships to kids across Nebraska with priority for scholarships going to kids who live in poverty, foster care, experience bullying, harassment, or other victimizing behaviors, or have a parent or guardian who is serving in the military."

Innovative School Choice Legislation Approved in Oklahoma

From the American Federation for Children:

Governor Kevin Stitt signed a historic school choice bill into law Thursday. House Bill 1934 makes a tax credit of at least $5,000 available for every family with a school-aged child, with the credit eligible to help offset private school tuition. The credit for private school tuition increases to $7,500 per child in households making less than $75,000 annually. Additionally, parents of homeschool students can claim a $1,000 tax credit per child for online curricula, tutoring, instructional materials, and other qualified expenses. The tax credits will be available starting in January 2024.

North Carolina Governor Declares "State of Emergency" Over School Choice Legislation

In a special address on May 22, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency over a "spate of extreme legislation," including a proposal to pour "billions of dollars in taxpayer money into private schools that are unaccountable to the public and can decide which students they want to admit."

The governor is referring to a proposal that would remove income eligibility criteria from the state's Opportunity Scholarship program and replace them with a sliding scale system where low-income families would receive the largest share of scholarship funds.

No word yet on whether people are supposed to take this seriously.

Illinois Legislature Fails to Extend Landmark Choice Program

Last week, the Illinois General Assembly declined to extend the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program, which provides 9,000 low-income students with privately funded scholarships for private school, and which is set to sunset at the end of the year.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, "Public opinion is behind the program: 59% of Illinoisans polled supported Invest in Kids. Another poll found 71% of Black voters and 81% of Hispanic voters backed it. Parents repeatedly lobbied lawmakers to extend the program."

Advocates for the program say that they are not done fighting yet.

National Test Scores Reveal Declining Knowledge of History, Civics

According to a release from the National Assessment Governing Board:

U.S. eighth graders saw score declines in civics and U.S. history on the latest Nation's Report Card (also called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP), another reminder that the nation urgently needs to turn its attention to learning at the secondary level.

The average score on the 2022 civics assessment declined by 2 points since students last took the test in 2018, the first decline since the assessment began in 1998. Only 22 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in civics.

The average score dropped 5 points on the NAEP U.S. history assessment between 2018 and 2022. The decrease continues a trend of declining scores that began in 2014. Just 13 percent of eighth-grade students scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in U.S. history. [emphasis added]

While NAEP Proficient remains the goal for students, nearly one-third of eighth graders are performing below NAEP Basic in civics, meaning they likely cannot describe the structure and function of government. In U.S. history, 40 percent of eighth graders performed below NAEP Basic, meaning they likely cannot identify simple historical concepts in primary or secondary sources.

Private school participation was not large enough for private school student scores to be reported as a subgroup.