A potential advantage that school's with open-door policies have is a close relationship between the faculty and students. Students who feel comfortable enough to discuss problems and ideas with faculty will form a bond with these individuals. In addition, if their voices are heard and changes are made in the classroom, it will promote better in-class behavior from the students. For parents, if they need to speak with a faculty member or teacher, they can be more plugged in as to what exactly is going on in their child's academic career.
For public schools that get subsidized by the state on a per-pupil basis, an open-door policy can help schools earn more money and maintain multiple programs. For students, open-door policies allow them to go to school's outside of their own district, which may benefit them if they have a particular interest, such as sports, science or another academic field that is better at a school other than their designated school. The open-door policy also creates more diversity, in terms of culture and affluence in different communities.
While the premise of the open-door policy relies on a mutual trust between students and teachers, it can often be exploited by teachers and staff to get personal information from students. For example, if a student complains to a staff member about a teacher or class, this information may end up getting back to the teacher, directly affecting and changing the relationship between this student and their teacher. While a discussion between the two parties may be beneficial, sometimes private information can be misused.
While an open-door policy may help students from other districts get into school, this may result in overcrowding. As the amount of state funding for school students decreases, overcrowding is one of the only ways that schools can continue to operate without cutting teachers and programs. As a result, an open-door policy can result in more kids per class, leaving less one-on-one time with students and a higher chance of students slipping through the cracks.