State Regulation of Nonpublic Schools

127 p.Thesis (Educat.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982.The purpose of this study was to review the development of state regulation of nonpublic schools, to examine the constitutional protection available to nonpublic religious schools, to examine state regulation of nonpublic education in selected states, and to develop specific recommendations for the improvement of state regulation of nonpublic education.The brief historical perspective on nonpublic education reviews the changing nature of nonpublic schools and its effect on state regulation, examines the state's interest in the regulation of nonpublic schools and the separation of church and state issue as it relates to state regulation of nonpublic schools. The constitutional protection available to nonpublic schools and the constitutional boundaries within which a state may regulate nonpublic education in order to further legitimate educational objectives was presented through an analysis of related court cases.A comparative analysis of state regulations was completed to determine the status of state regulation of nonpublic schools in six states: Nebraska, Michigan, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. The comparative analysis focused on school accreditation, admission requirements, attendance requirements, teacher certification, curriculum regulations and school calendar. The comparative analysis indicated that three states, Nebraska, Michigan, and New York required the nonpublic schools to be approved or accredited. Each state in the study has a compulsory attendance regulation and a minimum admission age. Nonpublic school teacher certification is required in Nebraska and Michigan; the remaining states allow voluntary certification of nonpublic school teachers. Each state has a curriculum equivalency requirement incorporated in the compulsory attendance statute. School curriculum and compulsory attendance regulations have received the most attention by state legislatures in the development of controls over nonpublic education. School calendar was found to be the least regulated area of nonpublic education.The study makes the following recommendations for the development of sound regulations for nonpublic education: (1) Abandon state policies which are designed to regulate nonpublic school accreditation, teacher certification, and curriculum; (2) Develop regulations which seek to standardize admission policies, attendance requirements, and school calendar in public and nonpublic schools; (3) Develop disclosure regulations for nonpublic schools; (4) Require nonpublic schools to develop self-accreditation procedures.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD