Districts in Demand: Administrative Decision-Making and Student Mobility Under Kansas’s Open Enrollment Policy

• In Event: Student assignment, school choice, and diversity in contemporary American public school districts

Abstract

In recent years, open enrollment (OE) has rapidly spread throughout the United States, reforming education policy in the name of "school choice". All 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have either inter-district or intra-district policies in place as of July 2025, though a high degree of variation exists between states. As Kansas adopted its own open enrollment policy amidst fluctuating enrollment and risks of school segregation, it created a unique context to examine how administrative decision-making and equity considerations manifest.

The purpose of this study is to understand the patterns of student movement across geographic contexts based on social factors and district administrative personnel’s decision-making regarding capacity, challenges, benefits, and equity considerations amidst the new statewide open enrollment requirements adopted within Kansas for the 2024-2025 school year. This is particularly relevant given the shifting demographics of the state, with declining public school enrollment trends creating an atmosphere in which policies promoting competition may carry elevated risks and rewards for districts.

To explore the complexity of this topic, we utilize an explanatory sequential mixed method approach. We conduct descriptive spatial analyses across geographic locales and racial composition relative to neighboring districts to consider how demographic and contextual factors relate to OE acceptance and denial rates. This was followed by qualitative data collection consisting of 13 semi-structured interviews with district-level personnel, including superintendents and administrative staff. These qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a document analysis of district policies and local news.

Quantitative trends indicate open enrollment policy participation is most widespread in suburban and city contexts. Among denials, suburban and city districts more frequently cited capacity relative to town and rural districts. Districts with more denials tend to be academically stronger and relatively more advantaged than their surrounding districts. Over the course of interviews, administrators typically described capacity as a central organizational mechanism, referencing class size targets to maintain appropriate levels of instructional quality. Additionally, administrators identified transportation as a major equity concern, noting that the expectation for out-of-district parents to provide transportation ultimately leads to greater accessibility for affluent families.

We organize our findings into three central themes. First, there exists a strong degree of geographic variation in open enrollment uptake. Quantitative and interview data inform a strong likelihood that, in the first year of the policy, students are showing signs of abandoning city school districts in favor of suburban schools. Second, district-level leaders implement state mandates through locally defined ideas of capacity, which often reflect practical constraints and responses to perceived competition between districts for students. Finally, structural barriers, particularly transportation, limit which families may be able to participate in OE, potentially reinforcing preexisting inequalities and limiting the theoretical expanded access. Future research may look towards exploring longitudinal changes, parent perspectives, and cross-district collaboration for financial survival and enrollment optimization.

Authors

• Travis Miller, University of Kansas
  Presenting Author

• Bryan Mann, University of Kansas
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Sophie O’Connor
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Morgan Ashley Murakami, University of Kansas
  Non-Presenting Co-Author