White rolls out voucher accountability plan

Private schools taking on students via the state’s new voucher program will be held to roughly the same accountability standards that public schools are held to in order to maintain state funding, according to a plan rolled out today by Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White—who will ask the BESE board to formally approve the plan at a special meeting Tuesday. Under the plan, schools with an average of 10 or more voucher students per grade—or 40 or more such students total—would be required to administer some standardized tests to students, who would also need to score above an average on minimum to ensure the school can remain enrolled in the program. That’s just one of many requirements laid out in the four-page plan, which you can check out in its entirety here. “Schools participating in the scholarship program know that student achievement is paramount, and all schools are accountable under this system,” White says. “The system establishes a common bar for performance across our state and includes swift consequences when programs don’t work for kids.” CABL, which has been among a number of groups calling for a stronger accountability plan for the voucher program than what’s already been outlined, released a statement today saying it supports White’s plan “as a good first step.” However, CABL went on to note, “this entire program is, in many ways, breaking new ground and there will no doubt be a need for adjustments along the way. This policy acknowledges both that and the state’s responsibility to accountability.”