Reporters’ test finds uneven checks on new private schools

ProPublica and local news partners created private school entities in three states to examine what it takes to establish them. Their experiment found that the checks on operators and curricula varied, with some routes requiring little information about either.

In Arkansas, reporters registered a school-related business for $45. The state does not regulate private schools once they open, according to the investigation. Reporters also applied for eligibility to receive public funding; after applications for the current school year had closed, an Education Department employee suggested other application routes.

In West Virginia, reporters first filed notice for a brick-and-mortar school and were told they needed a fire marshal’s safety clearance. They then registered a microschool by providing a college transcript and notifying the local district. The state Education Department said it does not approve or deny microschools.

In North Carolina, reporters submitted a notice of intent using fire and sanitation inspection reports for a brewery. Officials said the reports had to be specific to a school. The journalists stopped the process rather than seek further inspections, and the source account does not confirm that the notice was approved.

The investigation describes the steps the reporters encountered, not a definitive account of every application. The journalists said they would not enrol students, operate the schools or take public money. ProPublica linked the growth of private and microschools to voucher-style programmes, including Arkansas’s Education Freedom Accounts and West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship.