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The Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education provides non-partisan education research and information to policy-makers, education partners and the public. Our purpose is to encourage higher performance throughout Canada's public education system.
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Open Enrollment and School Choice
Dr. Daniel Brown, Fall 2004
In 2002, the government of British Columbia made school catchment boundaries permeable. The open enrollment legislation was a new policy direction giving BC parents and students the right to choose among schools, with the proviso that local students still have first priority at their neighbourhood school and cannot be displaced.
At the time of the legislation's introduction, school choice was relatively restricted under the prevailing neighbourhood schools policy practiced by the majority of BC school districts. The integrity of the neighbourhood school was an important educational goal, one that required a relative uniformity of programs available. Apart from students who attended French immersion and a modest number who were able to select other programs, transfers across school catchments were few and monitored strictly by educators. With few exceptions, school boards considered competition for students to be unwarranted and provided little, if any, information that would differentiate one school from the next.
To attempt to identify the impact of this new policy, a study1 was carried out in the period immediately following the proclamation of the legislation, from September 2002 to June 2004. Of interest to our research team were such questions as: How do districts and schools respond when restrictive school boundaries are abolished? Does open enrollment translate into dramatically increased opportunities for educational choice for parents and students? What are the effects on schools and other players?
The research focused on 20 urban districts, as having the greatest opportunity to provide families with large numbers of learning options in close proximity to each other. Based upon interviews, reviews of relevant documents, and a survey of school principals, the research probed the provincial context, government intentions and district, schools, and individual experiences with regard to broader choice. It examined the number of applications for new schools of choice that emerged, their processes, influences upon them and their disposition as one important indicator of the supply of choices. The study also attempted to assess the 'choice climate' in the twenty districts, based on nine important indicators of choice. This early research offers a number of insights for educators and policymakers on the prospects for school choice in B.C. under the open the enrollment policy.
Selected Findings
The Ministry of Education's aim of making schools more responsive to the wishes of parents and students was the primary purpose of the legislation, and school choice is consistent with other provincial education reforms instituted simultaneously.
The majority of school districts have developed policies guiding proposals for new schools and programs. The research identified 74 applications for new schools or programs of choice received by the 20 boards between 1999-2004, averaging 0.74 per district per year. Traditional, French immersion, and fine arts schools were the most frequently proposed. A majority (74%) of proposals brought to boards were approved and the rate of applications appears to be increasing. Parents are the primary source of proposals (71%), but expressed a need for more district support in assembling the applications.
School trustees and educators hold strongly contrasting philosophies on choice; many believe in neighbourhood schools and standardized educational services; a minority asserted a customer-oriented perspective, saying that choice will strengthen public education.
Districts differ considerably in the "climate of choice" they provide. A small group espouses school choice, has more applications and offers more learning opportunities. A second group of districts has some schools of choice but gives mixed signals about their commitment to them. The largest group of districts believes neighbourhood schools should be safeguarded and that schools should not be encouraged to differentiate themselves from others.
Many schools with school-wide specializations such as fine arts have wait lists; some are long. Schools with program specializations within them had fewer wait lists, while schools specializing in particular kinds of delivery (e.g., year-round) had even fewer.
Most district student transfer policies appear to conform to the legislation, although some are unduly restrictive. Very little quantitative data on student transfers was available. Only two districts provide aggregated student movement rates; these varied from 11% to 35%, a considerable difference of flows between schools.
While schools are facing an increasing need to reach out to prospective parents and students, principals differed on the extent to which they should do so. Some were concerned that more communications would increase competition among schools, having negative effects on schools and students. While most principals favoured the neighbourhood school model, a minority suggested 'healthy competition' was beneficial for schools and public education.
Conclusions
Based on the early evidence, the research suggests that the prospects for public school choice under open enrollment are mixed. There is considerable activity in some districts and the rate of applications for new schools is increasing, but the majority of districts and educators hold assiduously to the neighbourhood schools philosophy. The legislation appears to have had a modest effect on school choice in the province in the short term. There has not been a significant increase in school responsiveness to parents and students.
The new policy is only enabling; it does not guarantee school choice. Children retain the right to stay in their neighbourhood schools, safeguarding the schools from any strong incentive to differentiate themselves. The legislation does not address the provision (or the supply) of choice, and parents cannot choose if real and practical options are not made available. Consequently, the policy is a modest approach to the expansion of school choice.
Nevertheless, the advent of open enrollment in British Columbia begins to redefine public education. Rather than just providing schools that are regarded primarily as agents of the state with the main responsibility to offer uniform educational services to all students, two new aims have been added. One is that public schools are being asked to be sites where a sense of community can grow and the connections to homes and families can be affirmed. The other aim is that public schools are asked to offer divergent opportunities to adapt to the widely varied interests of individual students as they pursue their educational achievements. It is possible that the incorporation of equity, liberty, and community is the future of public education in this province.
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