How does a state get an “A” for its open enrollment laws? In the five states with the highest grades—Oklahoma, Idaho, Arizona, West Virginia and Utah—public schools are always free and open to all students who want to transfer between schools or districts.
The 33 states that got F’s, on the other hand, “make it extremely difficult for public school students to transfer to public schools, even when they have open seats,” says the report by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian public policy organization.
Open enrollment, a component of school choice, lets students transfer from their home schools to other public schools that have open seats. States got higher grades for allowing cross-district and inter-district transfers, not charging transfer fees or additional tuition and making open enrollment data more transparent.
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“Research shows students use enrollment programs to transfer to higher-ranked public schools,” said Jude Schwalbach, a senior policy analyst at Reason Foundation and author of the study. “Unfortunately, most states’ open enrollment laws are weak and ineffective and prevent families from transferring to the public schools best for them.”
Some 16 states allow cross-district open enrollment while 14 permit statewide within-district transfers. Fees and tuition are prohibited in 27 states. However, public schools in many states can block transfers or charge tuition when they have additional space for new students, the study contends.
In a snapshot of one state, Nebraska, which got a B, students can transfer up to three times between kindergarten and 12th grade and appeal when transfer requests are rejected. Districts must post available capacity by grade level and inform students in writing when transfers are denied.
In Alabama, which the study ranks second-worst for open enrollment, students who received a “D” or “F” on their most recent report card are eligible to transfer within their districts to schools ranked “C” or higher by the state. Students at failing schools can move outside their district only when their home district has no capacity.
Open enrollment grades by state
- A: Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia
- B: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin
- C: Arkansas, Montana and North Dakota
- D: California and Iowa
- F: 33 states (Alaska, Maine, Maryland and North Carolina scored 0 out of 100 for failing to meet any of the study’s best practices for open enrollment).
