MYTH: Private Schools are Unaccountable
by IACS Lobbyist & Policy Consultant Eric Goranson
Perhaps the most offensive and flagrantly misleading argument against school choice programs is that private schools aren’t “accountable.” In Iowa, an education organization or location is not considered a “school” unless it is accredited by the state or an approved national or regional accrediting body.
Starting in 2013, Iowa’s private schools were finally able to be “independently accredited” by reputable third-party accrediting agencies. These agencies are the gold standard in accreditation. Around the same time, state accreditation went from a model of on-site visits every five years to a desk audit model. Independent accrediting agencies did not change. Almost every Christian school in the state of Iowa is independently accredited, and has the additional burden (over state accreditation) of continuous improvement standards, regular on-site visits, and the risk of losing their accreditation if they don’t perform. Iowa’s Christian and independent, nonsectarian schools pay to be scrutinized by their accrediting bodies and committees of their peers and are held to a much higher standard than state accreditation. We don’t believe there is anything wrong with state accreditation for public schools or private schools that choose it – it simply isn’t as intense or accountability-laden as accreditations pursued by IACS members and other private schools in the state who choose another agency.
Additionally, and most importantly, Iowa’s private schools are ultimately accountable to parents. Unlike public schools, private schools that underperform or struggle financially close. Parents take their children somewhere else as they vote with their feet. There is no property tax or sales tax safety net. Private schools deliver. When they don’t, they fail. That is the ultimate accountability.
(1).png)
