State regulations for private schools should minimize the social costs and maximize the social benefits of these schools. Private schools provide a unique laboratory for educational research. They also give clients more control over their lives, strengthen cultural diversity, and provide an opportunity for parents to choose educational methods…

Several public policy issues, particularly the ebb and flow of nonpublic school enrollment at elementary and secondary levels and the causes and implications of those fluctuations, were studied. The research consisted of a state-wide analysis and 12 case studies of nonpublic education in Louisiana. The eight chapters are organized into two major…

Given the paucity of evidence accurately characterizing private education, this paper synthesizes and interprets available research on private school enrollments, religious affiliations, tuition levels, characteristics of patrons, and common features of operation. The organization of data on church-affiliated schools is found to be faulty, with…

This paper distills from a research conference, arranged by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), six questions that constitute an agenda for research on private education. Discussed after each of the following proposed questions are some of the past research studies relevant to the question, and the status of research in progress.…