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School choice can be best defined as empowering parents to select the educational environment they feel is best for their child. In other words, school choice is parental choice. Some families are already able to exercise school choice simply because they have the resources to move to the neighborhood of their choice or to pay private school tuition. Families that do not have these same resources can only exercise choice through the use of different school choice tools, such as vouchers, tuition tax-credits, etc. The best school choice tools are programs (like vouchers or tuition tax credits) in which education funds follow the child to the school of their parents' choice, whether public or private. Other school choice tools include charter schools, open enrollment, magnet schools, virtual schools (both public and private), privately-funded scholarships, private schools, and home schooling. To see a list of the school choice options currently available in Utah, click here 2. Does school choice help students do better in school? A large number of high-quality studies show that vouchers improve academic achievement. No empirical study has ever found that vouchers hurt academic achievement. 3. Does school choice make public schools better? A growing body of studies shows that competition from school choice improves public schools. No empirical study has ever found that school choice hurts public-school outcomes. 4. Doesn’t school choice drain resources from public schools? School choice programs do not drain money from public schools. Actually, they leave more money behind to educate fewer students. No state or city with school choice has seen its public school budgets go down. 5. Are private schools that participate in school choice programs held accountable? Private schools are accountable to both parents (through choice) and the public (through existing accountability rules). Piling on burdensome regulations in the name of accountability would only hamper their ability to teach children better. 6. Will school choice turn private schools into over-regulated public schools? Attempts to transform private schools into over-regulated public schools through school choice programs have failed, and with vigilance we can continue to see to it that they fail. 7. Does the public really want school choice? A majority of the American public – black, white and Hispanic – supports school choice. School choice is supported by people on both sides of the political aisle. Most important, parents of all backgrounds support school choice, because they know it is best for their children. 8. Is school choice constitutional? Recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court strongly favor school choice. Because parents make a truly independent choice of where to send their children to school, there is no violation of the U.S. Constitution if they freely choose religious schools. 9. Does school choice help special-education students? School choice for special education allows parents to find school that matches their child’s individual needs. The evidence shows that disabled students using school choice are getting better services. 10. Does school choice really lead to more integrated schools? Contrary to the claims of opponents, school choice leads to more integrated schools. Research shows that private schools are less segregated than public schools, and that children using school choice attend more integrated classrooms than their public school counterparts. Definitions
These programs allow parents to use all or part of the government funding set aside for their children’s education to send their children to the public or private school of their choice. In effect, this separates government financing of education from government operation of schools. Most programs allow parents to send their children to either religious or non-religious private schools. Participating private schools are required to meet standards for safety, fiscal soundness and non-discrimination; some programs also impose additional restrictions. Universal Voucher Programs All children are eligible. Example: Sweden Means-Tested Voucher Programs Children from families below a defined income level are eligible. Examples: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Washington DC Failing Schools, Failing Students Voucher Programs Children who are performing poorly in public school or who are attending failing public schools are eligible. Examples: Florida (A+ Program), Ohio (Educational Choice Program) Special-Education Voucher Programs Children identified as having special educational needs are eligible. Examples: Florida (McKay Program), Ohio (Autism Scholarship Program), Utah (Carson Smith Scholarship) Pre-Kindergarten Voucher Programs Children in pre-kindergarten programs are eligible. Example: Florida Children who live in towns that do not operate public schools at their grade levels are eligible. In a few cases the town picks the schools to which its students will be tuitioned, but usually the choice of school if left to the parents. Examples: Maine, Vermont Tax-funded scholarship programs Individuals and/or corporations get a tax credit for making donations to private charitable organizations, which use the money to fund scholarship for students. These scholarships can cover the cost of private-school tuition, tutoring and transportation. In some states, students must meet certain income criteria to be eligible for scholarships. Scholarship-granting organizations can be started by community groups, philanthropic organizations or any other group that wants to extend school choice to children. Participating private schools required to meet standards for safety, fiscal soundness and nondiscrimination. Examples: Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona Parents are given a tax credit or tax deduction from state income taxes for approved educational expenses. This usually includes private school tuition as well as books, supplies, computers, tutors, and transportation. Even when tuition is not eligible for the credit or deduction, these programs still make school choice easier for parents because they relieve the burden of non-tuition expenses at private schools. Some programs restrict the income level of eligible recipients or the amount they can claim. Examples: Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois Charter schools are public, government-operated schools that are exempted from many state regulations in exchange for results-based accountability to an oversight body. Charter school laws vary widely across the nation with regard to autonomy, regulations and accountability requirements. Click here to learn about Utah's charter school program Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws with about 3,400 schools serving almost 1 million children. Individual parents or groups of parents may choose to educate their children at home instead of in traditional public or private schools. While home schooling is legal in all 50 states, each state has its own statutes and regulations governing the practice. Funding mechanisms such as vouchers and tax credits would free home schooling parents from paying twice for education, once in taxes and once in costs to educate a child at home. An estimated 2 million children are home schooled each year in the US.
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