Schools' Responses to Voucher Policy: Participation Decisions and Early Implementation Experiences in the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

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Educational Vouchers; Educational Policy; Scholarship; School Choice; Program Effectiveness; Interviews; Participation; Program Implementation; School Surveys; Religious Factors; Academic Achievement; Compliance (Legal); School Policy; State Policy; State Regulation; Context Effect; Decision Making; Online Surveys; Administrator Attitudes; Case Studies; Institutional Characteristics; Etiology; Grades (Scholastic); Elementary Secondary Education; Qualitative Research

10.1080/15582159.2015.1061384

1558-2159

Little is known about the supply side of voucher programs, despite schools' central role in program effectiveness. Using survey and interview data on the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (ICSP), I analyze schools' participation decisions and early implementation experiences to understand better how schools respond to program regulations. I find that schools choosing to participate in the ICSP were most concerned with how their academic and religious identity would be affected, whereas those choosing not to participate were most concerned with the program's procedural requirements. Participating schools did experience early changes to the academic and religious composition of their student bodies as well as challenges related to the program's administrative requirements.

As Provided

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2015

EJ1071149