Residential Choice and Tuition

School choice has always been available to those who could afford private schooling or a home in an area with a desirable school. While new choice programs continue to grow, residential choice and paying tuition continue to be the primary methods by which families choose schools. According to U.S. Department of Education statistics, 11 percent of students are enrolled in private schools. [1] Families exercising residential choice account for 24 percent of public school students. Parents of these students reported moving to a neighborhood to gain access to its schools. [2]

Access to schools of choice has not always been limited to those who can afford it.Prior to the mid-1800s, American families could choose from a variety of independent community and church-sponsored schools as well as home schooling. [3] Public policy developments over the past decade signal a return to a system of diversity and access.

Tax Credits, Tax Deductions, and Education Savings Accounts

Education savings accounts enable parents to save up to $2,000 annually in bank accounts that are free from taxation and to apply this money to K–16 educational expenses.[4]

Tax credits and deductions for education are tax policies that (1) allow parents to claim a credit or deduction against their taxes for approved educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, tutors, or transportation, or (2) enable individuals or corporations to receive a tax credit for contributions to tuition scholarship organizations. Parents in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota can use the first type of credit. Families in Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania benefit from the second type.

For more research on tax credits and deductions, go to the research page.

States that have tax credits:

• Arizona
• Florida
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Pennsylvania

Vouchers, Scholarships, Tuitioning, and Contracting

Publicly funded scholarships or vouchers are certificates with a designated dollar value that may be applied toward tuition or fees at a public or private educational institution of choice. Vouchers are similar to the federal government’s Pell Grant program, under which a student receives a designated dollar amount in the form of a scholarship to apply toward tuition at a public, private, or religious college or university of choice. These programs are available to eligible students in the District of Columbia, Florida, Ohio (Cleveland only), Utah, and Wisconsin (Milwaukee only).

Voucher-like tuitioning laws enableschool districts or towns without public schools to pay for the cost of sending students to private or public schools in another district or state. Maine and Vermont are the only states that have tuitioning laws.

Private voucher programs are scholarship programs that are supported by individuals and corporations. The scholarships are awarded by lottery to applicants for use at private schools. These programs are available in most states.

Contracting with private schools to serve at-risk students or those with disabilities occurs across the country. When services are unavailable, students with disabilities are educated at private schools with public funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Private schools are also used to educate high school dropouts and other at-risk students as well as to alleviate overcrowding.[5]

A growing body of evidence indicates that public and privately funded vouchers often improve the academic performance of at-risk students, promote parental satisfaction, and foster accountability within public school systems. For more research on vouchers, go to the research page .

States with voucher or tuitioning programs:

• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Ohio
• Maine
• Vermont
• Utah
• Wisconsin

Home schooling is the practice of schooling students at home by parents or guardians. Home schooling is the fastest growing form of school choice. From 1994–2003, the number of home-schooled students rose from345,000 to1,100,000.[6]

On average, home-school students have higher academic achievement than students in public or private schools. Home-schooled elementary school students tend to perform one grade level higher than their peers in traditional schools. By high school, they are achieving four grade levels above the national average. [7] Nearly all home-schooled students participate in at least two extracurricular activities such as dance, sports, music, and volunteerism. In fact, the average home-school student participates in five such activities. [8]

Although home schooling is legal in all 50 states, laws vary. In some states, home schooling is highly regulated; in others, there is no contact between the state and the parents. For degrees of regulation, see individual states .

For more research on home schools, go to the research page.

One of the oldest forms of publicly subsidized school choice, magnet schools were developed to draw students of differing ethnic backgrounds for the purpose of reducing segregation. Magnet schools offer students a special academic focus or thematic environment. According to the most recent U.S. Department of Education data, there are 1,736 magnet schools in 28 states. Illinois and California have the highest number of magnet schools at 420 and 456, respectively. Illinois has the highest percentage of students in magnet schools at 15 percent. [9]

McCarver Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington, was the first school of choice opened to reduce segregation. Opened in 1968, it was followed a year later by Trotter Elementary in Boston, Massachusetts. The term “magnet school” came into use after a performing and visual arts school in Houston, Texas, used it to describe how it attracted students. Bolstered by desegregation orders and federal funding, magnet schools opened in urban areas across the country. [10] While new forms of choice have emerged, magnet schools continue to provide families with education options.

Interdistrict and Intradistrict School Choice

State laws may either allow families to choose schools within or outside of the district or mandate that districts allow them to do so. Open enrollment laws allow families to choose any school in the state. An increasing number of families are taking advantage of public school choice programs. A May 2003 survey by the U.S. Department of Education found that more families, particularly those with lower incomes, are participating in “public-school choice,” sending their children to schools other than their assigned schools.

The number of students attending a public school of choice rose from 11 percent in 1993 to 14 percent in 1996 and 1999. Further, the National Center for Education Statistics found that parents of students in private schools or public schools of choice were “more likely to say they were ‘very satisfied’ with their children’s schools, teachers, academic standards, and order and discipline” than were parents of students attending a public school to which they had been assigned. [11]

For more research on public school choice, go to the research page.

Interdistrict choice programs give parents the freedom to send students to public schools outside the district of residence. In some states, the policy is voluntary, and districts may or may not participate. In others, interdistrict choice is mandatory, and all districts must allow transfers. Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin have interdistrict choice laws. Minnesota enacted the nation’s first interdistrict law in 1988.

Intradistrict choice programs enable parents to choose from schools within the district of residence. In some states, districts set transfer policies. In others, intradistrict choice is mandatory. California, Illinois, and Ohio have mandatory intradistrict choice laws. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, signed in 2002, children attending schools that have failed to make adequate yearly progress toward meeting state standards for two consecutive years are eligible to transfer to better-performing schools within the district.

Open enrollment is a statepolicy that allows parents to choose from any school in their state. With voluntary open enrollment, the district is not required to offer a choice. With mandatory open enrollment, the district must allow parents this option. Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington State have open enrollment laws.

Dual enrollment policies enable high school juniors and seniors to take college courses at two- and four-year higher education institutions for high school and/or college credit. Programs provide access to rigorous course work and ease the transition between the two institutions. According to the Education Commission of the States, 47 states have dual enrollment programs run by the state, district, or institutions. In most cases, the school district pays for the courses. [12]

An emerging dual enrollment model known as “Middle College” allows eligible high school students to complete their final two years of high school on a two- or four-year college campus where high school and college faculty team-teach courses. Programs target high achievers in need of more rigorous coursework but also are intended to engage lower-performing students. [13]

Since Minnesota enacted the first charter school law in 1991, over 3,000 independent public schools of choice have opened their doors. A charter school is a public school sponsored by a local school board, university, state board of education, or other state governing body and operated by groups of parents, teachers, other individuals, or private organizations. Charter schools are granted more autonomy than district-run public schools and are held accountable for student performance. Because of the flexibility granted to them, charter schools may differentiate themselves by employing a curriculum that is different from the district’s, having a thematic approach, instituting a longer school day, requiring parental involvement, or using innovative technology. Like other public schools, charter schools are open to all students and are funded through tax receipts.

Forty states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school laws. Charter school laws vary by state as to the degree of flexibility given to schools. In some states, such as Arizona and Minnesota, charter schools have significant freedom to innovate. In others, such as Kansas and Mississippi, schools have little flexibility to differentiate themselves from district-run schools. [14] The following states do not have charter school laws: Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.

Harvard University scholar Caroline Hoxby recently published a study surveying data from nearly 99 percent of elementary charter school students. She found that, when compared to peers at the traditional public school that charter students would most likely have attended, charter students are 5.2 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 3.2 percent more likely to be proficient in math on state tests. [15] Earlier research by Hoxby tracked the competitive effects of charters on surrounding schools, finding that increased school choice raises school productivity and student achievement within the public school system. The report found that competition from charter schools in Michigan and Arizona, and from Milwaukee's voucher program, has compelled public schools to raise their productivity as measured by students’ achievement gains. [16]

For more research on charter schools, go to the research page.