The "Maine K-12 & School Choice Survey" project, commissioned by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research, Inc. (BRI), measures Maine registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education topics and school choice reforms. The author and his colleagues report response levels and…

In June 2007 the Governor of Maine signed legislation that required the state's 290 school administrative units (SAUs) to seek partners for a reorganization that would reduce the number of SAUs to approximately 80 Regional School Units (RSUs) (Maine State Legislature, 2007). This policy initiative is the first reorganization of Maine's school…

Opponents of school choice argue that private schools are not "accountable" because they are not subject to detailed oversight by a regulatory bureaucracy. They claim private school employees can be expected to engage in abusive and criminal behavior more frequently. School choice supporters respond that parents hold private schools…

Explores the issue of school choice as it pertains to town tuitioning in Maine. Includes the historical development of town tuitioning and current patterns by region and school type. Argues that town tuitioning provides substantial numbers of rural high school students and their parents with opportunities to choose high schools. (KS)

Findings from a study that examined the hypothesis that published standardized assessment scores would influence enrollment in Maine high schools are presented in this paper. The hypothesis was derived from the Bush Administration's assertion that regular educational assessment would influence parental school choice. The Maine educational system…

An overview of parental choice options and issues in Maine is presented in this paper. Methodology involved: (1) interviews with 10 state Department of Education officials; (2) analysis of State Department of Education data; (3) interviews with other educators and one state legislator; (4) analysis of newspaper and journal articles; and (5) a…

The research needs for a cross-national study of public versus private school choice in Maine and Atlantic Canada are described in this paper. In the United States, the use of public funds to support private schools has historically been constrained by the separation of church and state doctrine and by the ideology of the public school as a common…

In 43 rural Maine communities that pay tuition to send their students to high schools in larger towns, achievement test scores appeared to influence parental school choice but explained only 20% of the variability in enrollment trends. Enrollment trends were not related to school socioeconomic status or expenditure per pupil. Contains 40…