Breaking Down Education Freedom Rankings for Florida and North Carolina: Andrew Handel in The Center Square

Florida and North Carolina’s rankings from ALEC’s new Index of State Education Freedom: A 50-State Guide to Parental Empowerment were recently covered by The Center Square.

Florida had a near perfect score in their education ranking with only a few improvements needed as noted by report author Andrew Handel.

“I would first say that Florida has been regarded as the gold standard in education freedom for some time now and they certainly lived up to that title in our rankings. That being said, there are some places to improve.” Handel said that Florida lost points on charter schools because virtual charter schools cap the number of students that can enroll.

In North Carolina, Handel explained how the state’s recently approved universal ESA legislation will take the state’s current ranking to a higher level.

“Had the NC ESA been reflected in this year’s rankings, NC would have moved up from 35th to 12th and received a perfect score in the funding category,” Handel wrote. “The rankings will be done annually, and next year’s version will reflect the universal ESA passage in NC.” Handel said the report is based on policies effective in states prior to June 1. The state budget, which implements universal school choice, was passed on Sept. 22 and went into effect this week.

Read the full pieces in The Center Square here:

• Florida needs only a few changes for a perfect education freedom score
• NC Could have been B not D, and No. 12 not No. 35