Publication Cover
Journal of School Choice
International Research and Reform
Volume 14, 2020 - Issue 2
222
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Special Section

Out of Pocket? Out of Reach: How Hidden Costs Affect Participation in a Means-Tested School Choice Program

, , , &
Pages 159-189 | Published online: 14 May 2020
 

ABSTRACT

We examine how low-income parents who apply for North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program navigate major obstacles to their full participation in this means-tested private school choice program. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study draws upon administrative data from the state agency that oversees the program, surveys of every applicant family across two consecutive school years (2015–16 and 2016–17), and focus group data from two regions of the state. We uncover four major themes related to applicant families’ decisions to explicitly or implicitly decline the offer of a private school voucher: Program eligibility requirements, parents’ difficulties acquiring program information to assist with the application process, students’ inadequate academic preparation, and financial barriers to participation. Even though eligible families can qualify for financial assistance of up to $4,200 per year, hidden costs appear to play a particularly important role in voucher use. We discuss the policy implications of these findings and offer recommendations.

Acknowledgments

This paper benefitted greatly from feedback received by the participants at the 2020 International School Choice and Reform Conference, NC State University’s Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Program brown-bag seminar, and the Meredith College Educational Series on Public Policy. We are also deeply indebted to Drs. Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj and Robert Fox who reviewed drafts of the manuscript and provided helpful feedback and to Duke University graduate students, Martine Aurelien, Kerry Condon, Stephen Pangle, and Chandler Rowland for their valuable research assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This comparison reflects all sources of funding (local, state, and federal) received by both sectors. Because the voucher program does not receive any funds from local or federal sources, it is also instructive to compare the voucher value to the portion of public school funding that comes from state sources only, which is $5,634. The voucher value is 75 percent of this amount.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 310.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.