Enrollment Preferences Task Force Final Report December 2015 Submitted by The Enrollment Preferences Task Force to Delaware General Assembly and Governor Jack Markell Enrollment Preferences Task Force | Final Report December 2015 PREFACE The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration was requested by Representative Kimberly Williams and Senator Nicole Poore to assist in the facilitation of a series of task force meetings regarding the School District Choice Application Process, and to produce a report detailing the proceedings and findings. The task force became known as the Enrollment Preferences Task Force and was created through House Bill 90. It was charged with the role of considering the current landscape of all school enrollment preferences and practices including charter, magnet, and vocational-technical schools to develop recommendations, as necessary. The Task Force reviewed extensive research regarding charter, magnet, and vocational-technical school policies both locally and nationally, and sought opinions from a diverse group of experts in the education field to provide members with information to guide decision-making. This report summarizes the opinions of the Task Force on an extensive list of questions and topics that are currently considered in the enrollment processes for all school types. The Task Force did not conclude with recommendations, rather it concluded with a compilation of information to inform future conversations and considerations. FROM THE CO-CHAIRS We are honored to have worked with a dedicated group of individuals who committed time and energy to discussing concerns related to charter, magnet, and vocational-technical school’s enrollment preferences over an extended period of time. The Task Force, through voting and extensive discussion, reviewed enrollment applications and practices. It should be noted that any future recommendations will require “successful legislation… [to] become legally binding restrictions” (Fontello, 2013). Representative Kimberly Williams Senator Nicole Poore Task Force Co-Chair Task Force Co-Chair Page i Enrollment Preferences Task Force | Final Report December 2015 ENROLLMENT PREFERENCES TASK FORCE MEMBERS Representative Kimberly Williams, Task Force Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Superintendent, Caesar Co-Chair Rodney School District, Kent County Senator Nicole Poore, Task Force Co-Chair Dr. Shawn Joseph, Superintendent, Seaford School District, Sussex County, served until Senator David Sokola January, 2014 Representative Earl Jaques, began service on Dr. David Ring, Superintendent, Delmar School November 18, 2014 District, Sussex County, began service on Representative Darryl Scott, served until January, 2015 November 17, 2014 Dr. Matthew Donovan, Principal, Mark Murphy, Secretary of Delaware Middletown High School Department of Education Dr. Victoria Gehrt, Superintendent, New Castle Randall Hughes, Delaware State Board of County Vocational-Technical School District Education Dr. Deborah Zych, Superintendent, Polytech Frederika Jenner, President, Delaware State School District Education Association Dr. AJ Lathbury, Superintendent, Sussex Susan Francis, Executive Director, Delaware Technical School District School Board Association Mark Pruitt, Principal, Conrad Schools of Yvonne Johnson, Delaware Parent Teacher Science Association Julie Rumschlag, Principal, Cab Calloway School Charles Taylor, President, Delaware Charter of the Arts Schools Network Diane Ruth, Charter School Representative, Gary Stockbridge, President, Delmarva and served until September 15, 2014 Representative of the Delaware Business Henry Clampitt, Charter School Representative, Roundtable began service on September 16, 2014 Terri Hancharick, Governor’s Council for the Don Mell, President, Prestige Academy Exceptional Citizens Dr. Terri Hodges, Parent Lindsay O’Mara, Office of the Governor Elizabeth Lockman, Parent Dr. Merv Daugherty, Superintendent, Red Clay Consolidated School District, New Castle Catherine Hegedus, Parent County Page ii Enrollment Preferences Task Force | Final Report December 2015 ENROLLMENT PREFERENCES TASK FORCE SUPPORT TEAM Institute for Public Administration (IPA) Associate Policy Scientist Fran Fletcher served as the project manager and facilitator. IPA Associate Policy Scientist Kelly Sherretz assisted in research. Christopher Kelly (IPA Researcher), Ryan Bradley (IPA Public Administration Fellow), Katrina Cowart (IPA Public Administration Fellow), and Emma Odren (IPA Summer Public Policy Fellow) assisted in preparing this report, while IPA Policy Specialist Sarah Pragg edited and formatted the report. Mark Brainard, Jr., Legislative Assistant, helped to plan and coordinate the work of the Task Force, disseminated agendas, minutes, and support materials for each meeting and provided liaison services between the Task Force membership and the co-chairs. Page iii Enrollment Preferences Task Force | Final Report December 2015 FORWARD BY CO-CHAIR REPRESENTATIVE KIMBERLY WILLIAMS The Enrollment Preferences Task Force was established on June 3, 2013, when Governor Markell signed House Bill 90 into law. House Bill 90 has made it easier for families to navigate the choice process by standardizing the application and deadlines across traditional, charter, magnet and vocational-technical (vo-tech) schools, while also removing a provision that allowed school districts to reject an application of a student with special needs. House Bill 337, which was signed into law on June 25, 2014, required all local education agencies’ enrollment deadlines to align, giving families uniformity and enabling them to make better decisions on which school to send their children. Both of these measures helped position our state to offer Delaware students and families an opportunity to make better choices about their education in ways that work best for them. The Enrollment Preferences Task Force worked for over a year to seek broader solutions around the issues stemming from school choice and this report details the conversations on those very issues. School choice gives families options for their children. The school choice system should be easy for families to navigate—and the application process should be simple. Delaware’s magnet, vo-tech and charter schools all use the Delaware Standard Choice Application, but most of these schools require families to fill out a supplemental application as well. The supplemental application consists of a variety of questions, while asking families to submit various documents. Some application processes require families to take tours and meet with school staff. There are Delaware public schools that require families to schedule a time for an interview or an assessment. Many of these questions and requested items should be requirements established after a student is invited to attend a school, not during their application process. Magnet, vo-tech, and charter schools are public schools and their doors should be open to all children. We, as a state, should make sure all children have access to all public schools in Delaware. We need to ensure there are no barriers in place when our families apply to any of our public schools or programs. The choice application process must be as simple as possible, while removing all unnecessary requirements and welcoming all families to apply. There should be no measures in place that may limit certain families from attending any of Delaware’s public schools. In 2014, the governor established the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee, which issued a report titled “Strengthening Wilmington Education: An Action Agenda.” In the report, the Committee commented about the work of the Enrollment Preferences Task Force and called for the elimination of enrollment preferences, stating: We encourage the task force to recommend policies and practices that are aligned with national best practices and eliminate enrollment practices for all schools that limit the educational opportunities of students. (Wilmington Education Advisory Committee, 2015, p. 36) I, too, encourage the Delaware General Assembly to work to eliminate enrollment practices that place limitations on the educational opportunities of Delaware children. I believe the traditional, magnet, vo- Page iv Enrollment Preferences Task Force | Final Report December 2015 tech, and charter schools can come together to achieve this. Within in this report, you will see that a majority of the task force members agreed to remove many current practices used today during the choice process by our magnet, vo-tech, and charter schools. You will also see how the majority of the task force members agreed to remove some of the current preferences used by Delaware charter schools. Delaware legislators must come together and do what is best for all Delaware children. Our students do not care what party we are aligned with and they deserve schools that will, first and foremost, accept them and then nurture and educate them in a way that ensures that Delaware’s future is bright. I am confident that we can all come together to ensure that all students have access to all of our wonderful schools and programs here in the First State. Sincerely, Representative Kimberly Williams Page v Enrollment Preferences Task Force | Final Report December 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 1 Enrollment Application Concerns ....................................................................................................