Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hurdles to open a school are so low, could we do it?

Reporting Highlights

  • An Easy Process: In Arkansas, all it took to establish a school was filling out a form on a state website, $45 and the purchase of an American flag.
  • No Qualifications Needed: Having no experience running a school — or even teaching — didn’t stand in the way of founding schools.
  • Fewer Barriers: We discovered that opening microschools, which are proliferating nationwide, offer an even easier route.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.