September 17, 2012
The Center for Education Reform has launched the Parent Power Index (PPI) to provide parents with information on ease of access in states to exercise choices. The goal of the PPI is to measure parent’s ability to exercise educational choice in their state as well as to have a voice in their children’s educational systems. “The Parent Power Index gives parents an interactive tool to discover whether the state affords them power –and if not, what they can do to get it.”
Each state’s policies are evaluated on the following “elements of power”: charter schools, school choice, teacher quality, transparency, and online learning. Individual state pages provide state-specific information on the five “elements of power,” with sources such as The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, The Essential Guide to Charter School Law 2012 National Ranking and Scorecard, Digital Learning Now!, and the National Council on Teacher Quality.
PPI looks to discover how readily available is information for parents, how easy is it to understand, and what types of options are available based on where you live. State pages provide information on available programs, fast facts on education, parent-trigger laws, pro-reform governors, and reliability of the media discussion on school choice and school issues. The “Be the Power” section offers information for parents on how to become more involved in educational choice in their local area.