In summer 2024, we published The School Starter Checklist, a compendium of regulations on private schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Even a cursory glance at it will show that states take different approaches to regulating private schooling. Some states take a forceful posture, requiring schools to do everything from getting accredited by the state to administering state standardized tests to having teachers certified by state bodies. Others are more hands off, giving private schools autonomy to operate as they see fit.

We at EdChoice are firmly on the side of autonomy. Private schools are private for a reason. They want to act differently and be different. They might want to have a religious orientation or pursue a different pedagogical philosophy. They also might wish to depart from the typical school calendar or schedule, use different disciplinary practices, or vary from public schools on a host of other matters. We do not believe that there is one right way to educate children, and parents should be free to choose from schools that meaningfully differ from each other. That means allowing schools to do different things and be accountable to parents for what they do. That said, we are not anarchists. We believe in parental rights but recognize that those rights are not absolute. The state does have an interest in safeguarding children, who are vulnerable and leave the protective gaze of their parents when they attend school. We believe that regulations on schools can ensure student safety without meaningfully infringing on the educational autonomy of private schools.