Yesterday, at a conference sponsored by Common Good at the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, education reformers and researchers (including our own Checker Finn) came together to discuss the educational downsides of excessive litigation and regulation. Teachers and administrators were described as walking on eggshells out of fear of lawsuits. Classroom decisions are being based not on what's best for the kids but on legal concerns. (Playgrounds are stripped of equipment, an upset first grader cannot be hugged, teachers are hesitant to break up fights, etc.) One highlight was the presentation by William Ouchi, professor at the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. He described the 'Weighted Student Formula' approach to school funding-a method originated by superintendent Mike Strembitsky in the blue-collar town of Edmonton, Canada. In this decentralized approach to budgeting, every child can choose the public school he/she wishes to attend, and the money for that child follows him/her to their school. Using a weighted student formula that takes into account factors such as the student's socio-economic circumstances, any disability, and level of English proficiency, each student is ranked and allotted a specific amount of money based on this ranking. Then, the schools (imagine!) are given budgetary control of the money. The results in Edmonton have been spectacular. In fact, the public schools are so successful they have literally put the private schools out of business. Seattle and Houston have followed in Edmonton's footsteps, and New York City is eyeing it. Ouchi made clear that he's encouraged by these cities but sad that more places are not taking this approach to school improvement.
"Is law undermining public education?" Common Good forum at the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, November 5, 2003
"Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They
Need," by William G. Ouchi with Lydia G. Segal, Simon and Schuster, 2003