Having already enacted enhanced education choice options for families (HB 93), Idaho lawmakers are continuing their education reform efforts this session with two new proposals. The first is SB 1097 sponsored by Senator Janie Ward-Engelking. According to the Statement of Purpose of SB 1097:
“The purpose of this legislation is to allow any school district the flexibility to convert to a charter district, or any configuration that includes schools as public charters. It gives school districts more flexibility as we reimagine our future schools. It provides the opportunity for all schools to be innovative and incubators of creative ideas. This decision would be left up to the local school board. Interested schools shall submit proposals to the Idaho State Board of Education for consideration.”
SB 1097 was unanimously approved by the Senate on February 27 and is currently awaiting action by the House.
The second proposal is HB 392 sponsored by Representative Jack Nelsen. According to the Statement of Purpose for HB 392:
“This legislation creates a new chapter which allows for Idaho public school districts to be designated as ‘districts of innovation.’ With this designation, districts would be exempt from certain Idaho statutes, administrative rules, and State Board of Education policies, freeing up resources to pursue local priorities to meet ambitious student achievement goals. The legislation outlines district eligibility requirements, the process to receive authorization from the State Board of Education, requirements from which districts may request exemption, and the process of amendment and review of the local innovation plan. This is an important shift for our traditional public school districts, allowing them to pursue innovative local policies similar to the public charter school sector.”
HB 392 has not yet been acted on by the House Education Committee.
There is a major case study we can review to see what the impact of these types of changes could be. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans public schools were largely transitioned into charter schools. This innovation and flexibility lead to significant improvements in student outcomes. A report from the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans notes:
“Our findings reveal the New Orleans reforms led to large gains in average student achievement and increased rates of high school graduation, college entry, and college graduation in the first decade after they were implemented. Student outcomes have stabilized since then . . . A key factor driving improvement in average academic performance was the gradual process of closing and taking over low-performing schools.”
Although the New Orleans Public School District has changed some since this experimentation, the district still notes:
"NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) stands apart from traditional American public school districts as a system that gives schools the flexibility to set their own educational models, hire their educators, and be innovative to best develop the whole child, academically, socially, and emotionally."
It is clear from the charter reforms enacted after Hurricane Katrina that providing public schools more flexibility and then holding them accountable for results will lead to improved student outcomes.
SB 1097 and HB 392 help put the focus of education back where it should be, on what’s best for students to help them succeed instead of checking the boxes of a traditional system heavy with regulations. Ideally, all public schools should have the freedom to be like charter schools with the ability to innovate to meet student learning needs while being held accountable for results.