Education choice allows families to choose the best educational fit for their children. It encompasses public, private and non-traditional schooling options like open enrollment public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, home schooling, online learning, education scholarship accounts, vouchers and tax-credit scholarships.
Every child deserves access to a quality education that provides the knowledge, skills and values necessary to prepare them for a successful career and fulfilling life. Unfortunately, many children are residentially assigned to schools that don’t fit their unique needs and learning styles. Policymakers can support equitable access to those opportunities by championing the ability to choose one or more schools in one or more settings served by one or more providers.
Open enrollment provides the flexibility for students to attend public schools—either full time or part time—outside of their residentially assigned attendance zone. Forty-six states, plus Washington, D.C.,
have open enrollment policies.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools open to all students and held to state academic and financial standards. However, unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are run independently of school districts and operate under a performance contract with an authorizer (a district, the state or another approved government or nonprofit entity). In exchange for more operational autonomy, charter schools are held accountable for student success.
Policymakers recognize that a child’s education experience happens both in and out of the classroom. Learn Everywhere policies ensure that students receive high school credit for learning that happens outside of a school setting.
The Learn Everywhere Act provides greater flexibility for students to earn credits towards high school graduation requirements through approved learning experiences outside of the classroom.
ESAs are flexible spending accounts funded by the state and controlled by parents. With an ESA, parents can customize and direct funds to a combination of approved uses, such as tutoring, therapy for students with disabilities, instructional materials/curriculum, online programs, private school tuition, contracted services with school districts, exam fees and savings for future education expenses, among others.
To provide for tax-credit scholarships, businesses and individuals make voluntary donations to nonprofit
organizations that award private school scholarships to eligible students. In return, businesses and individuals receive a state tax credit
Vouchers were the first form of private education choice, originally enacted in 1990 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The concept is simple, and something that had been practiced in higher education for generations: instead of sending funding directly to schools, fund a child and let them take the funds to any eligible school of their choice.