Summary: California offers families limited school choice options. The state does not support private school choice. But it does allow choice within the public education system. The Education Commission of the States reports that California has enacted two open enrollment policies: a mandatory intra-district and a voluntary inter-district open enrollment. The Center for Education Reform reports that California has one of the nation's strongest charter school laws and a thriving charter school network. In all, 219,000 students attended one of the state's 637 public charter schools in 2006-07.
Recent Developments: No new developments.
Click here for detailed information on California's public school system and see below for school choice contacts in California.
State Contacts
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Association of Christian Schools International, Northern California/Hawaii Regional Office
Rohn J. Ritzema, M.A., Regional Director 9581 Calvine Rd. Sacramento, CA 95828 Phone: (916) 681-8451 Fax: (916) 681-8452 Website: http://www.acsi.org/web2003/default.aspx?ID=1677 E-mail: rohn_ritzema@acsi.org |
Association of Christian Schools International, Southern California Regional Office
Jerry Haddock, Ed.D. 731 N. Beach Blvd., Suite 210 La Habra, CA 90631-3659 Phone: (562) 694 -4791 Fax: (562) 690-6234 Website: http://www.acsi.org/web2003/default.aspx?ID=1678 E-mail: jerry_haddock@acsi.org |
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California Charter Schools Association
Caprice Young, CEO and President 818 West 7th Street, Suite #910 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Phone: (213) 244-1446 Fax: (213) 652-1000 Website: www.charterassociation.org E-mail: helpdesk@charterassociation.org |
California Department of Education
Linda Wyatt, Education Program Consultant 1430 N Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 319-0800 Website: www.cde.ca.gov E-mail: lwyatt@cde.ca.gov |
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California Parents for Educational Choice
Alan Bonsteel M.D., President 294 Cecilia Way Tiburon, CA 94920 Phone: (415) 389-8262 Fax: (415) 389-8263 Website: www.CPEConline.org E-mail: abonsteel@earthlink.net |
California State CAPE
Dr. Ronald Reynolds, Executive Director, California Association of Private School Organizations (CAPSO) 15500 Erwin St. #303 Van Nuys, CA 91411 Phone: (818) 781-4680 Fax: 818-781-4680 Website: www.capso.org E-mail: ronreynolds@capso.org |
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Capitol Resource Institute
Karen England, Executive Director 1414 K Street Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 498-1940 Fax: (916) 448-2888 Website: www.capitolresource.org E-mail: kengland@capitolresource.org |
Catholic Education Foundation
Kathleen H. Anderson, Executive Director 3424 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90010-2202 Phone: (213) 637-7475 Fax: (213) 637-5901 Website: www.CatholicEd-foundation.org E-mail: KHAnderson@cefdn.org |
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Center for the Study of Popular Culture
David Horowitz, President 4401 Wilshire Boulevard 4th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90010 Phone: (323) 556-2550 Website: www.cspc.org E-mail: info@cspc.org |
Charter Schools Development Center
Eric Premack, Co-Director 7750 College Town Drive, Suite 100 Sacramento, CA 95826 Phone: (916) 278-6069 Fax: (916) 278-4094 Website: www.cacharterschools.org E-mail: epremack@calstate.edu |
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Christian Home Educators Association of California
P.O. Box 2009 Norwalk, CA 90651-2009 Phone: (800) 564-2432 Website: www.cheaofca.org E-mail: info@cheaofca.org |
Claremont Institute
Brian Kennedy, President 937 West Foothill Boulevard Suite E Claremont, CA 91711 Phone: (909) 621-6825 Fax: (909) 626-8724 Website: www.claremont.org E-mail: info@claremont.org |
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Independent Institute
David J. Theroux, President 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA 94621 Phone: (510) 632-1366 Fax: (510) 568-6040 Website: www.independent.org E-mail: See form on web site. |
National Home Education Network (NHEN)
Christine Webb, Media Contact Phone: (503) 647-2992 Fax: (503) 647-3285 Website: www.nhen.org E-mail: retromom@earthlink.net |
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Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy
Lance Izumi, Director Education Studies Unit 1414 K Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 448-1926 Fax: (916) 448-3856 Website: www.pacificresearch.org E-mail: Izumi58@aol.com |
Reason Public Policy Institute
3415 South Sepulveda Boulevard Suite 400 Los Angeles, CA 90034 Phone: (310) 391-2245 Fax: (310) 391-4395 Website: www.reason.org E-mail: chris.mitchell@reason.org |
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San Francisco Independent Scholars
Ann Fry, Program Manager 755 Sansome Street Suite 450 San Francisco, CA 94111 Phone: (415) 989-0833 Fax: (415) 989-2411 E-mail: afry@pacificresearch.org |
Southern California Children's Scholarship Fund
Erica Macias, Program Director 626 Wilshire Blvd Suite 515 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Phone: (213) 689-8909 Fax: (213) 689-8910 Website: www.sccsf.org E-mail: emacias@sccsf.org |
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State Policy Network
Tracie Sharp, President PO Box 5208 Richmond, CA 94805-5208 Phone: (510) 965-9700 Fax: (510) 965-9701 Website: www.spn.org E-mail: spn@spn.org |
The BASIC Fund
Meghan Magilligan, Administrative Director 268 Bush Street Suite 2717 San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: (415) 986-7221 Fax: (415) 986-5358 Website: www.basicfund.org E-mail: meghan@basicfund.org |
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The Guardsmen Scholarship Fund
Elizabeth Castaing, Scholarship Administrator 340 Brannan St, Suite305 San Francisco, CA 94107-1836 Phone: (415) 856-0939 Fax: (415) 856-0949 Website: www.scholarship.org E-mail: scholarship@guardsmen.org |
The Hoover Institution
Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6010 Phone: (650) 723-1754 Fax: (650) 723-1687 Website: www.hoover.org E-mail: horaney@hoover.stanford.edu |
Archived History, Pre-2006
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