In the midst of controversy surrounding private education choice (specifically, the legal challenge to the Utah Fits All Scholarship program), you wouldn’t think that transferring students from one district school to another would be controversial at all.
Unfortunately, the process remains frustrating for some parents.
What does open enrollment look like on the ground? And where are some of the challenges?
The Sutherland Institute has conducted research on open enrollment compliance issues and published polling data to help Utah education leaders identify areas where gaps exist.
That’s why in our Sutherland Institute newsletter earlier this year, we also offered a survey to gather real-world stories of open enrollment in Utah. We heard a range of experiences – positive and negative.
Parents from different districts shared their frustrations with us (some of whom were not willing to share their story publicly), which led us to highlight opportunities for improvement. We share one story below.
A story from John
John, a father of students in the Davis School District boundaries, encountered significant hurdles when he tried to use open enrollment for his children in different public schools in his area.
His family had just returned to the U.S. after being out of the country for a few years when they tried to enroll their children in school. Their daughter wanted to attend Clearfield High because of the International Baccalaureate and German programs. At first, he was told by a counselor that open enrollment should be no problem, but they suddenly met a lot of challenges once the district realized they were not within their boundaries. He said the paperwork to get this to happen was “onerous” and that dealing with paperwork for sports was worse. Likewise, when they wanted to move their son from a charter school to a district school, it took a lot of visits and paperwork. Though open enrollment worked out in the end, it was a pain, and he noted that charter school enrollment was simpler.
He was not sure whether people in the office had a consistent understanding of open enrollment procedures but felt the process should be a lot more seamless.
He summarized it this way, “It didn’t feel like open enrollment for academics, and the sports transfer policies mean nothing[…] but negatively impact people with out-of-the-box situations.”
How can Utah improve the experience for parents?
Education options exist to serve parents in their fundamental right and responsibility of guiding their student’s education. As a result, our policies, implementation, and real-world experience must align with the needs of parents. Here are ways the open enrollment experience for parents might be improved.
Compliance with current law
We need better compliance with open enrollment policies. In past reports, we’ve reviewed district compliance with state law regarding the posting of specific data in an open enrollment capacity report on district websites, and we found very little compliance. Out of 41 districts, only 7 had this posted. This information is useful for parents seeking to know about the availability of enrollment at different schools.
District awareness of current law
The Utah State Board of Education should update its annual LEA Assurances and Compliance Checklist to include a reminder that this is required, as it currently does not highlight the need for this capacity report to be posted online. Awareness at the district level may help to bolster compliance.
District-level training
Likewise, district-level leaders and staff who do the groundwork may need better training on what their specific district requires for open enrollment. John’s story suggests that the lack of consistency in responses indicates a lack of knowledge and training. For parents seeking clarity, this creates frustration. For districts, this may ultimately lead to more headaches and negative interactions in the future.
Commitment to the parent experience
John’s experience also demonstrates the need to consider policies through the lens of parents – the consumers of the education system. If policies or paperwork are confusing, onerous, or buried, this ought to be evaluated and changed. If the reasons why a student cannot transfer are unclear, the process should be more transparent so trust in the public education system can be maintained. Districts may also find it valuable to proactively seek feedback from parents about their experience so they make improvements before issues become entrenched.
Conclusion
A strong law is only as good as it is helpful to those interacting with it. In this case, districts should determine how well they are actually providing the open enrollment experience. If we can get this right, the many families that enroll their kids in public schools may be more satisfied with their choice.
