Idaho, new centre of pay for success protocols, hooray:
Under Idaho Bill, Education Contractors Would Be Paid Only After Goals Are Met
Zach Kyle – Idaho Statesman
The Idaho House Education Committee voted to advance a bill that could give the state Department of Education a new way to outsource programs.
Under the “Pay for Success” plan, education contractors would receive state money only after reaching pre-established benchmarks agreed to by the state. The contractor and its investors would pay all expenses, including costs of third-party administrators and third-party program evaluators.
The 12 Republicans and three Democrats on the committee unanimously passed the bill to the full House.
Rod Gramer, president and CEO of the nonprofit education advocacy group Idaho Business for Education, testified in support.
“We see this as an innovative way to address some of the concerns we have around education,” Gramer said. “It’s a market-driven approach where private investors put up their capital in hopes that we can move the needle.”
Several committee members said they liked the pay-upon-success concept, but they were gun-shy of privatization in the wake of contractor scandals surrounding the state prison and Idaho Education Network wireless system.