Across Canada, school districts have been confronting a backlash to their equity and social justice initiatives. Critics of public education have been arguing that the solution to these controversies is to increase school choice. Using several examples from the United States, this paper argues that the endgame of these strategies is to undermine…

May 17, 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled segregated schools were "inherently unequal." At the time, North Carolina was one of 17 states that enforced de jure segregation, that is, segregation by law. The state of North Carolina and the school districts within…

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in "Carson v. Makin" that Maine violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by excluding religious schools from a private-school-choice program--colloquially known as "town tuitioning"--for students in school districts without public high schools. Writing for the majority,…

"Believing in Public Education: A Demographic and State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends" is a new data analysis that examines enrollment trends during the last four school years (2019-2023). Over the last four school years (2019-20 to 2022-23), charter schools have gained more than…

Under the umbrella of the school-choice movement and free-market principles, charter schools have become the preferred choice of school reform for some, while traditional public schools remain the preferred modality of education by others across the United States. The establishment, funding, and selection of students to attend charter schools have…

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (ICSP), which began in fall 2011, is a state taxpayer-funded financial aid program that helps low and lower-middle income Hoosiers to send their children to the private K-12 school of their choice. This voucher program has been extremely popular among families, as the number of students receiving scholarships…

Rural students in Arizona enjoy far more education choice options than rural students in any other state. Education has flourished in rural areas under Arizona's robust choice environment just as much as in the remainder of the state. The data could not be clearer: Rural students with expanded opportunities thrive, as do their teachers and…

Historically, debates about educational choice have wrestled with big, unresolved tensions that lie at the heart of American life, having to do with individual rights, community obligations, public and private interests, religious freedoms, and more. But in recent years, school reformers have tended to talk about choice as though it referred only…

This paper examines the characteristics that influence the number of transfers between school districts. Using data on 2018-19 transfers between Indiana's 289 traditional public school districts, we examine observed transfer flows. Model results show that standardized test scores and distance between school districts have the largest impact on the…

There are many different schooling options, but not all educational choice programs are created equal. Public charter schools and public-to-public transfers, for example, have provided options within the traditional system, but those programs leave many schooling types off-limits for families. EdChoice's goal as the nation's oldest school choice…

From an analysis of 40 private educational choice programs in 19 states plus D.C., this report summarizes the facts and the evidence on the fiscal effects of educational choice programs across the United States. The programs in the analysis include 3 education savings accounts programs, 19 school voucher programs, and 18 tax-credit scholarship…

In efforts to better understand program availability, quality, and characteristics related to family choice among universal prekindergarten (preK) programs in Vermont, this study examined the characteristics of approved preK programs overall, public school and private programs separately, and programs in local education agencies with different…

The National Longitudinal School Database (NLSD) comprises three files, making up a near-census of all schools and districts in the United States from school years 1990-91 to 2019-20. The three files are the Public School File, Private School File, and District File. As evident by the titles, the first two files report data at the school-level for…

Transportation, or the lack thereof, can be a huge barrier to families exercising choice. Simply because a state authorizes the creation of charter schools or grants vouchers to families looking to send their children to private schools doesn't mean that those children will actually be able to attend those schools. They have to be able to get…

This paper discusses the potential fiscal effects of education savings accounts for K-12 in New Jersey on the state and local taxpayers. Education savings accounts are a way to expand educational opportunity for all families, particularly those in need. For parents who voluntarily elect to customize their child's education, a specified amount is…