It’s been almost a full year since schools across the country closed their doors for in-person instruction. Even as Americans are beginning to anticipate a return to something that resembles pre-pandemic life, and more kids head back to school for in-person learning, it is clear that our schools will likely never return to what we once thought of as “normal.” And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

There are some aspects of “pandemic schooling” that teachers, students and parents might want to keep. While far from perfect, districts have laid the foundation and continue build the infrastructure for online learning. Some students prefer, even flourish, with an online approach. Not to mention, it would be foolhardy to ignore the large investments states have made in online learning.

Learning can happen anywhere.

If anything, the pandemic has taught us that learning can happen virtually anywhere. While not all parents can afford to hire a someone to facilitate a pandemic pod, those who can have made it work. Other families have found joy in homeschooling, something that more than 2.5 million families across the country already know. Many are calling parents the “sleeping giant” of educational change, and they should be the main constituency we should consider when crafting education policies going forward. But parents aren’t sleeping. On the contrary, the pandemic has illustrated that parents are poised to spring into action on behalf of their children. And in 2020, more parents than ever had reason to act.

Now more than ever, policymakers should consider bold initiatives to address the havoc the past year has wrought on students, schools and communities. States and districts have and will continue to have substantial federal stimulus funds that can be used to recover lost learning and re-imagine post-pandemic schooling. If they engage in that work without putting parents at the center of new policies, they will do so at their peril.

What do parent-centered education policies look like?

Parent-centered policies are flexible. They provide a variety of pathways for parents to meet their children’s needs. Parent-centered policies are also accessible: They don’t require that families live in a certain Zip Code or pay for educational opportunities. Simply put, parent-centered policies put families, not systems, at the center of every decision about a child.  

ExcelinEd’s new parent-centered playbook introduces five policies that states can consider. They include:

LEAP Grants

Learning Equity and Progress (LEAP grants) are direct payments to parents that they can be used to cover a variety of education-related expenses. States could provide LEAP grants to all students, focus only on students in certain schools, or support students who lost the most learning during the pandemic. States can also choose from a variety of mechanisms to fund LEAP grants. They could incent LEAP scholarships by establishing a tax-credit or redirect the state portion of education funding to families.

State-Wide Tutoring Corps

State-wide tutor corps are state-funded and focused on serving students who have the largest learning gaps to fill and the least ability to pay for individualized instruction. This policy is grounded in research that shows tutoring has substantial, positive impacts on academic outcomes. It encourages states to get creative in leveraging untapped talent and existing providers to provide tutors to students at no cost to the family.

Teacher-Parent Compacts

Parent teacher compacts allow parents to hire teachers directly, with teacher salaries paid by the state. This flexible arrangement can allow students with a variety of different needs and learning styles to access high-quality one-to-one or small group instruction in the environment that works best for them.

Open District Acts

Open districts allow parents and students to easily access schools outside of their assigned district. While some states already have similar policies on the books, too many allow districts to erect barriers to access for students who want a public-school education outside of their residentially-assigned area.

District Contracting

District contracting provides another avenue for students and families to access additional options without leaving their home district. This policy provides a framework for districts to contract with public and private providers, such as charter schools to micro schools and even tutors. Through contracting both parents and districts have more flexibility to tailor educational offering to the needs of individuals.  

The model policies offered in this playbook are designed to be adopted as is or adapted to specific contexts. They offer policymakers as much flexibility as they do parents. Now is the time to break down access barriers and open new possibilities for all students and families, no matter their background. This playbook is but one step toward increasing flexibility as a means to educational equity.