This week, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released the “ALEC Index of State Education Freedom: A 50-State Guide to Parental Empowerment,”and Florida topped the rankings.
Evaluating each state on essential policies that maximize parental empowerment, education freedom, and student achievement, the release coincides with the historic education freedom movement of 2023, with eight states passing universal school choice policies this year alone.
“Parents across the country have made their voices clear: the status quo in American education isn’t working, and they are demanding access to more educational options for their students,” said ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson. “Whether a public school, virtual school, charter school, home school, or some other educational environment, states are leading the way by making all of these a possibility for families to choose from.”
The ALEC Index of Education Freedom focuses on five categories of state education policy: funding and financing programs, charter schools, homeschooling, virtual schooling, and open enrollment.
Florida led the states, followed by Arkansas, Indiana, Arizona and Iowa. Massachusetts stood at the bottom of the state followed by Rhode Island, New York, Vermont and North Dakota.
“These new rankings focus on state-level policies that maximize educational opportunity for all students,” said Andrew Handel, the director of the ALEC Task Force on Education and Workforce Development and the author of the report. “States are increasingly recognizing that each student has his or her own unique needs, background, and learning style.”
ALEC previously published the Report Card on American Education, ranking the states based on a variety of performance indicators in K-12 education. The newly reimagined ALEC Index of State Education Freedom is forward-looking and focuses exclusively on the policies each state has in place to ensure their students can access the best educational environment for them. Scores are based on state policies in place as of June 1, 2023.
“The only way to ensure that all students are put in the best position to succeed is to offer a variety of educational environments. Parents, not bureaucrats, should be in charge of their students’ education,” Handel said.
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