In this article, we introduce a special collection of research articles that consider the processes and consequences of school choice across different social and spatial contexts in order to better understand the relationship between school choice and stratification in educational opportunity. This special issue presents a wide range of studies…

This report examines current educational options for U.S. students and the challenges of ensuring that choices are equally available and offer high-quality education. The report suggests what state policymakers can do to create high-quality opportunities that offer each family a system of schools worth choosing. The analysis starts from the…

This dissertation entitled "Educational choice and educational space" aims to explore the confluence of constructed space and geographic space using a supply-side context for New Zealand's public school system of quasi-open enrollment. In Part I, New Zealand's state and state-integrated school system across four urban areas is analyzed…

More and more families are willing to go to any lengths to get their children into the right schools, even if it means crossing the line between right and wrong. Boundary hopping--falsifying residency status to attend a particular school--has been around for years. In a handful of states, it has been alleviated by open enrollment, choice programs,…

Many school districts and states are examining parental choice as a means of improving public education. This document identifies various forms of school choice and describes existing programs across the United States. Within the public school system, choice programs fall into two basic categories--intra-district and cross-district. Intra-district…

A comprehensive review of educational choice literature and selected programs compose part 1 of this report. "Educational choice" is a catchall term encompassing a variety of strategies to grant parents the freedom to select schools, educational programs, or sets of courses based on the specific interests and needs of their children.…

Argues that although parents have primary responsibility for education society must ensure that it is distributed fairly and provides the skills and knowledge that every American should learn. Outlines arguments for and against "open enrollment" or unrestricted choice school plans. Describes a system of conditional choices implemented in…

This report presents a second look at the effects of Minnesota's School District Enrollment Options Program, usually referred to as the Open Enrollment Program. This interdistrict enrollment program allows families and students to apply for enrollment in any school district other than the one in which they reside. This document focuses on the…

Measures to improve parent and student choice of school have recently become an important issue for educational reform in a number of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. This book summarizes the school-choice experiences of selected OECD countries. The data, collected by the OECD/Centre for Educational Research…

Survey responses of 82 Minnesota parents of rural students with disabilities and rural gifted students show that the main reason they applied for open enrollment is because alternative districts were better able to meet the educational requirements of their children. Transferring students' demographic characteristics and parents' sources of…

This paper describes the use of tuition tax credits and vouchers as political alternatives of choice and competition in a progressive society. School and public administration theorists identify two distinct finance models: the rational and the political. The first part of this paper examines and describes these two models. The next part…

This report examines the issue of educational choice in detail, beginning with a historical review and concluding with a look at the future of choice in the United States. Focusing on both opposing and supporting sides of the debate, this report examines equity issues, including access to information, adequate and appropriate transportation, fair…

This document examines the implementation and early effects of Minnesota's open-enrollment option, which allows families to apply to enroll their children in a public school in any nonresident school district in the state. During 1989-90, surveys were mailed to 2,663 participating families, 1,966 secondary school students, and all 432 district…

An analysis of school choice programs is presented. The review is organized around the following topics: common characteristics of programs, variations, advantages and disadvantages, the relationship between choice and student achievement, and state role. A conclusion is that policy decisions will have to be based on factors other than effects of…

State policies regarding funding programs to serve at-risk students and dropouts through school-to-work activities in alternative learning environments were examined in a national survey. Data were collected through the following: surveys sent to finance directors in state departments of education and education committee chairs in both legislative…