Balancing Accountability and Local Control: State Intervention for Financial and Academic Stability. Policy Study No. 268

• Main Author: Seder, Richard C
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.2000
• Subjects: Accountability; Educational Finance; Elementary Secondary Education; Intervention; Low Achievement; Public Schools; School Restructuring; State Regulation; State Standards; State Takeovers; Urban Schools

States have used a variety of strategies to address financial and educational bankruptcy in public school districts and schools. The results of these intervention strategies are ambiguous. Four approaches that have been used are: (1) district takeovers; (2) mayoral control; (3) third-party partnerships; and (4) reconstitution of schools. In all, 22 states have passed academic bankruptcy laws that hold school districts accountable for student results. Since the first state takeover in 1989, more than 25 interventions in school and district operations have been made across the United States. This evaluation shows that the track record of these accountability mechanisms is mixed. One takeover in West Virginia has been widely viewed as resulting in a turnaround, but takeovers in New Jersey have not brought districts up to state standards. State interventions typically return fiscal soundness to districts in 3 to 5 years, but student achievement often lags. Financial management techniques are standard and can be replicated, but student learning is not easily addressed by a single approach. Traditional intervention strategies lack the strategic innovation needed to improve student learning. New options must be made available to educators, parents, and students. The efforts toward school reform in Chicago, Illinois, and Chelsea, Massachusetts offer examples of some approaches that other schools and districts may use. An appendix describes state academic bankruptcy laws and lists state takeovers. (SLD)