School Choice
School choice is a term for the alternative options students and their families have besides attending public schools. In the United States, students are assigned to a school district based on their residence, and this can be problematic for parents who do not like their school district. In addition, the most advantaged families can buy an expensive home in a wealthy school district, where the schools tend to be of much higher quality, while the most disadvantaged families cannot buy into such a school district.
Currently school choice is the leading education reform in the United States, with many people supporting the range of options within school choice. Three relatively uncontroversial forms of school choice are:
1. Open enrollment: Parents may enroll their child in any public school that has not reached its capacity. Depending on the laws in an area, students will have the choice to enroll at schools either within their district or outside their district.
2. Charter schools: Parents may enroll their child in a charter school, which is a public school that emphasizes educational innovation and is exempt from many traditional public school regulations.
3. Homeschooling: Parents may educate their children at home outside of any formal schooling institution.
The most controversial, and most common, form of school choice is:
4. Vouchers: This is a choice in which parents receive state money to send their child to a private school. There are two types of vouchers: universal vouchers, which are given to all families, and means tested vouchers, which are given to low-income families. If a family is eligible for vouchers for their child, they may apply for their child to attend any private school that participates in the voucher program. If their child is accepted to this private school, the government will then pay the private school a tuition fee for that child (the voucher money doesn’t actually go to the family).
Currently school choice is the leading education reform in the United States, with many people supporting the range of options within school choice. Three relatively uncontroversial forms of school choice are:
1. Open enrollment: Parents may enroll their child in any public school that has not reached its capacity. Depending on the laws in an area, students will have the choice to enroll at schools either within their district or outside their district.
2. Charter schools: Parents may enroll their child in a charter school, which is a public school that emphasizes educational innovation and is exempt from many traditional public school regulations.
3. Homeschooling: Parents may educate their children at home outside of any formal schooling institution.
The most controversial, and most common, form of school choice is:
4. Vouchers: This is a choice in which parents receive state money to send their child to a private school. There are two types of vouchers: universal vouchers, which are given to all families, and means tested vouchers, which are given to low-income families. If a family is eligible for vouchers for their child, they may apply for their child to attend any private school that participates in the voucher program. If their child is accepted to this private school, the government will then pay the private school a tuition fee for that child (the voucher money doesn’t actually go to the family).
Sources:
- Brighouse, Harry. "The Case for Choice." School Choice and Social Justice. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. 19-46. Print.