Is regulatory creep a fate that awaits all school choice programs? With the number of those programs doubling over the past five years, the need for context and understanding is critical. This report provides a framework for understanding the impacts of state government statutes regulating private schools, regulations distinct to a given school choice program, and any regulatory growth over a program’s lifespan.

1. PUBLIC RULES
ON PRIVATE
SCHOOLS
Measuring the Regulatory Impact of State
Statutes and School Choice Programs
breaking down

2. The U.S. has seen a surge in school choice
programs over the past few years.
Number of Private School Choice Programs
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
41
49
51
35
27252322
19
16141312108654
1987 20142012201020082006200420011997
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3. As that growth continues, we thought it
important to take a step back to see how
school choice programs have affected
private schools in terms of regulations.
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4. How did
we do it?
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5. DREW
CATT
our researcher
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6. examined 23 voucher, tax-credit scholarship,
and education savings account programs
from across the country.
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UT
AZ
LA
IA
WI
IN
GA
OH
PA
RI
FL
OK

7. First, he categorized private school
regulations by type.
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• Certification, Licensure
• Curriculum, Instruction
• Application, Eligibility (for school)
• Financial Reporting, Disclosure
• Testing, Accountability
• Paperwork, Reporting
• Student Life, Health and Safety
• Student Eligibility, Admissions, Enrollment, Tuition
• Transportation

8. -3
-2
-1
0
+1
+2
+3
All private schools are required or not allowed, and there is a similar level of burden across all schools
All private schools are required, and all will face some burden, but the level will vary (some schools may need to
take only a single action and some may need to take multiple actions)
All private schools are required, but some schools may never face any burden (some schools may never need
to follow regulation)
Private schools may choose or volunteer but must follow applicable requirements and/or pay applicable fees and
benefit is unclear, OR already covered by general statutes, OR contradictory statutes result in a net zero effect
Private schools may choose or volunteer but must follow applicable requirements and/or pay applicable fees
and benefit is clear
Private schools may receive parity
All private schools protected/safeguarded
Description
Impact
Scale
Value
Next, he scored each regulation* in every
category on a scale from -3 to +3
*See last slide
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9. 25
20
15
10
5
0
NumberofPrivate
SchoolRequirements
Pre-Choice
Then he determined how extensive those
regulations were before a school choice
program was enacted…
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10. …and how those regulations changed after
school choice programs were enacted.
25
20
15
10
5
0
NumberofPrivate
SchoolRequirements
Program Years 2+
Program Year 1
Pre-Choice
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11. He then totaled the
scores to show 5 things:
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12. 1. the impact
of a state’s
private school
regulations
before any
school choice
program
existed
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Certification, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,
Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-7
+8
-
-
+2
-6
-
+3
+8
+8
Statute Category Pre-Choice

13. 2. the
immediate
regulatory
impact that
comes with
the creation
of initial
regulations
for a school
choice
program
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Certification, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,
Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-
-
-1
-
-3
-3
-
-3
-
-10
Statute Category
Program
Year 1

14. 3. changes in
private school
regulations as
policymakers
revisit school
choice
programs
after their
first year of
operation
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Certification, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,
Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Statute Category
Program
Years 2+

15. 4. the total
regulatory
impact the
school choice
program
has had
on private
schools
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Certification, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,
Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-
-
-1
-
-3
-3
-
-3
-
-10
Statute Category
Program
Score

16. 5. and the total
regulatory
impact of all
state statutes,
before and
during school
choice
programs,
on private
schools.
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Certification, Licensure
Curriculum, Instruction
Application, Eligibility (for school)
Financial Reporting, Disclosure
Testing, Accountability
Paperwork, Reporting
Student Life, Health and Safety
Student Eligibility, Admissions,
Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
TOTALS
-7
+8
-1
-
-1
-9
-
0
+8
-2
Statute Category
Pre-Choice +
Program Score

17. Looking at a national snapshot of school
choice program regulations overall,
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UT
AZ
LA
IA
WI
IN
GA
OH
PA
RI
FL
OK

18. one might assume the growth of regulations
burdens private schools, but…
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160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Certification,
Licensure
Curriculum,
Instruction
Application,
Eligibility
(for school)
Financial
Reporting,
Disclosure
Testing,
Accountability
Paperwork,
Reporting
Student Life,
Health and
Safety
Student
Eligibility,
Admissions,
Enrollment, Tuition
Transportation
NumberofPrivateSchoolRequirements
Program Years 2+
Program Year 1
Pre-Choice
32
108
24
2 6
83
33 36
31
4
8
29
4 6
27
7
44
1
14
3
10
4 4
41
3
10
1
Counts of Regulations on Private Schools by Time Period for All Programs Analyzed

19. that’s not necessarily
the case for all types of
school choice programs.
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20. State Program Type
Program
Score
Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program
AZ
FL
WI
+3
-58
-132
Education
Savings Account
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Voucher
The design differences between various
types of school choice programs provide
insight into how regulatory structures
placed on private schools can also vary.
For example:
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21. So what did we
learn in that respect?
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22. Voucher program scores, on average, are
more than three times as negative the scores
of tax-credit scholarship programs. Note: The
actual level of burden facing private schools
may or may not be onerous.
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VOUCHER
TAX-CREDIT
SCHOLARSHIP
Average
Program
Scores

23. Of course, a state’s “Pre-Choice” environment
may also play a role in how private school
regulations are shaped—the regulatory burden
on some tax-credit scholarship programs is
higher when taking into account “Pre-Choice”
regulations. Here’s an example from Florida:
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John M. McKay Scholarships
for Students with Disabilities Program*
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
Program Type Pre-Choice
Pre-Choice
+ Program
Score
Program
Score
Voucher
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
-17
-14
-60
-58
-77
-72

24. Education savings accounts (ESAs), a new
model operating only in Arizona, are the only
type of school choice analyzed that received
a POSITIVE Program Score.
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Arizona
ESAs

25. Regulations affecting the following had the
MOST negative average impact scores:
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Paperwork
Reporting
Student Eligibility
Admissions
Enrollment
Tuition
8
8
8
8
8
8

26. What’s the takeaway?
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27. Many regulations already affect private
schools before participating in school
choice programs:
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62%
38%
PRE-CHOICE
REGULATIONS
PROGRAM-PROMPTED
REGULATIONS

28. School choice may contribute to more
regulations on private schools if they
choose to participate in programs, but
those regulations can vary in terms of
their requirements and impact.
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29. Drew makes
the following
recommendations
for policymakers:
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30. 1. Avoid reinventing the wheel
(and examine existing empirical
research on private school
choice programs).
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31. 2. Avoid statutory
redundancies and overlap.
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32. 3. Consider the oversight roles
of accreditation agencies and
private school associations.
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33. 4. Consider costs to private
schools in fiscal impact
calculations.
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34. 5. Ensure all schools,
regardless of type or sector,
are reimbursed for substantial
costs associated with
regulations.
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35. To read the full report and see a
breakdown for each school choice
program analyzed, visit
edchoice.org/PublicRulesOnPrivateSchools
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36. *each individual regulation from every
program and its respective impact score
can be found in our database, available by
request (email dcatt@edchoice.org)
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