Open Enrolment Should Be Abolished Essay

1563 Words7 Pages
OPEN ENROLLMENT SHOULD BE PHASED OUT 1 Open Enrollment Should Be Phased Out It was not until 1983 that many states began giving school districts the option of taking part in several school choice programs. These programs include magnet schools, charter schools, vouchers, tax credits and deductions, home schools, dual/concurrent enrollment, and open enrollment. All states except for Alabama, District of Columbia, North Carolina, and Maryland have passed some form of legislation allowing interdistrict open enrollment. By comparison, there are more students participating in open enrollment programs than all other school choice policy combined (Educational Commission of the States, 2011). Though open enrollment program policies can…show more content…
Conversely, school districts on the receiving end of open enrollment cite their desire to offset budget shortfalls as reason enough to continue these programs. Their point is valid because many operating budgets of districts on the receiving end of open enrollment programs tend to be abundant. Though, this may be short lived because even open districts are beginning notice a lack of physical space. OPEN ENROLLMENT SHOULD BE PHASED OUT 4 This is becoming a major concern as lack of physical space often leads to overcrowded classrooms. Also, some districts claim their primary concern is open enrollment programs lack ‘financial’ ability to offset costs associated with hiring additional teachers and staff members (Fowler, 1996). Clearly tax savings are not enough to justify continuance with open enrollment programs, which is evident by the six percent loss in the number of students grades 1–12 attending school in their own residential attendance from 1993 to 2003. Residential Zone Open Enrollment 80% 78% 76% grades 1-12 74% 72% 70% 1993
Open Document