More Resources Trends in the Use of School Choice

Editor's Note: This press release has been revised to reflect that the Council of Great City Schools did not co-sponsor the workshop on expanding school choice. The reference to their participation has been deleted.

The U.S. Department of Education today hosted an all-day workshop with education practictioners and administrators from across the country to discuss how to expand school choice capacity so that all students in eligible schools will have more options for education.

Department officials hope to get input from the participants and stir creative thinking among them regarding choice strategies and approaches to addressing the challenges in expanding choice in school districts nationwide.

"School choice is essential for authentic public school reform," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "And our education system must embrace this reality to reflect the times -- and the law."

He added, "This workshop is another example of our efforts to reach out to state and local education leaders to work with them on implementing the many important requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. We value their input, and look forward to continuing these important conversations."

The workshop was organized by the Office of the Under Secretary and the Office of Innovation and Improvement.

"There are lots of strategies that states and communities are using to expand school choice," said Under Secretary of Education Gene Hickok, "but there doesn't seem to be a coordinated, concerted effort to take advantage of the strategies. We want to change that, which is what this meeting was about.

"One of the things we talked about is how the department can better support efforts to build capacity for school choice through the information it disseminates, the technical help it provides and the research it conducts."

The discussion examined the challenges and barriers that must be addressed to provide high-quality educational options to all students and study creative, innovative approaches to overcoming these barriers. Further, it provided participants the opportunity to suggest the next steps that the department might take with respect to technical assistance, information dissemination and research.

The workshop included representatives from the following organizations: Miami-Dade County Public Schools; the Brighter Choice Charter School in New York; the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning; the Council of the Great City Schools; StandardsWork, Inc.; the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association; the Florida Virtual School; the American Enterprise Institute; the School District of Philadelphia; Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Schools; New Haven (Conn.) Public Schools; the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO); the Center for Education Reform; and the Colorado Department of Education.

Meanwhile, the department's National Center for Education Statistics today released a study that shows that the use of public school choice has increased over the past decade and that parents are more satisfied when they select a school for their children.

Trends in the Use of School Choice: 1993 to 1999 shows that the percentage of students enrolled in public, chosen schools increased from 11 percent in 1993 to 14 percent in 1999, while the percentage of students enrolled in public, assigned schools decreased from 80 percent to 76 percent during the same time.

In addition, parents whose children attended either public, chosen schools or private schools were more likely to say they were satisfied with their children's schools, teachers and academic standards, and with the schools' order and discipline, than were parents whose children who attended public, assigned schools.

"No Child Left Behind says we must empower parents by giving them the range of choices for their children's schooling that many have come to expect in all others parts of their lives," Secretary Paige said about the report. "The availability of school choice has increased over the years, and I'm very happy that this study shows that parents are taking advantage of those opportunities."

The report examines data from 1993, 1996 and 1999 from the National Household Education Surveys Program. It provides information about trends in the use and users of public schools of choice and private schools, parent satisfaction and involvement and students' plans for postsecondary education. The report also provides a brief analysis of homeschooled students in 1999.

Trends in the Use of School Choice : 1993 1999 can be downloaded at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfor.asp?pubid=2003031.

President Bush's 2004 budget again demonstrates his commitment to expanding education options for parents by including an estimated $756 million to help ensure America's parents have more choices for their children. This amount includes funds for a new Choice Incentive Fund; refundable tax credits for parents transferring a child from a public school identified improvement; Voluntary School Choice Grants; charter school grants; the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program; and the Magnet School Assistance Program.

For more information about the No Child Left Behind Act, visit www.nochildleftbehind.gov.

###

Top

Back to May 2003