The purpose of this mixed methods study is to ascertain how and why parents select an alternative public educational setting for secondary students in the state of Minnesota a state with school choice options. Three research questions address this purpose, including why parents do not send their children to the local public high school, why…

School choice improves parents' satisfaction with their children's schools, and public schools that face competition have shown improved performance, yet opponents continue to oppose reforms that give parents the opportunity to choose their children's schools. State and federal policymakers should reform existing education policies to give all…

Documents growing public support for school choice and profiles four types of choice programs. Although the school-choice movement has some real advantages in producing a market-driven, competitive, and performance-based system, it is not an educational panacea. Fundamental changes are needed within society, regulating political agencies, and…

Disenchantment with 1980s school reform progress has produced school choice--the get-tough, marketplace approach to school improvement. Choice proposals in California fit two categories: interdistrict plans and intradistrict plans. The latter is already a common option featuring open enrollment and management and continuation schools. Two sidebars…

Minnesota is leading the school choice movement, but Governor Perpich's promotional tours may be somewhat premature. This article examines the open enrollment concept and its consequences, including charges of elitism and application of private enterprise principles to education. Open enrollment contradicts the legislature's duty to establish a…

A major alternative in school choice is the concept of charter schools: public schools delivering public education and using public dollars, but organized by individuals or groups, not school boards, and operating legally as private, nonprofit organizations or cooperatives. This paper explores the charter school as another option in the search for…

This article examines an emerging preference for education tax credit programs in a post-"Zelman" era. First, the authors detail the origin of tax credits and the types of existing plans. Second, they review the assumptions underlying the supposed advantages that may favor tax credits as a feasible alternative to vouchers. Third, they…

Support for Minnesota's cross-district public school choice laws is strong. In 1992, 76% of Minnesotans favored choice as 1 part of the comprehensive reforms needed. This article debunks seven widely circulated myths about the state's choice plans, particularly regarding program effects, benefits for disadvantaged students, parental selection…

Reviews the young charter-school movement's status and effects. Advocates claim charter schools' mere existence in an area stimulates reform. So far, chartering has shown tremendous diversity and engaged many highly motivated people. Systemic change will depend on American educators' responsiveness to society's Information-Age demands. (Contains…

To help public schools experience free-market competition, Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander and President Bush propose parental choice among private, parochial, and public schools, supported by public financing for program design and tuition grants. Sidebars highlight church/state separation concerns and school choice experiments in…