Washington is at a crossroads on K-12 education policy. Policymakers can (1) continue down the path of top-down accountability; (2) devolve power to states and districts, thereby returning to the status quo of the mid-1990s; or (3) rethink the fundamentals, do something different, and empower parental choice. This article discusses how the federal government can achieve equity. The author believes that the best interests of the nation require something other than either a return to the happy days of local school governance or evolutionary improvements to the type of top-down accountability found in No Child Left Behind. He suggests that a fundamentally new approach is needed. He proposes to reform the nation's schools on the basis of two principles that have served the nation exceedingly well throughout its history: (1) federalism; and (2) choice. This approach places the federal government in a central role in providing information and compensatory funding and in promoting a competitive and information-rich marketplace for education services. (Contains 1 table.)