School Choice: Who’s Choosing Who?

(from Brookings) School choice, broadly defined, proposes that parents can choose to send their children to school wherever they think best, and in theory, can help improve access to quality schools and the educational prospects for the most disadvantaged children. However, a recent study of school choice among charter and public schools found that schools may be selectively discouraging certain groups of students from applying, particularly students who are perceived as harder to educate, therefore restricting certain students to lower-quality schools and consequently exacerbating educational disparities.

This question is pressing considering federal funding for school choice may rise considerably in the next few years. Last month, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed a new federal tax credit for individuals and companies that make donations to scholarships that enable students to attend education programs outside of traditional public schools. Data suggests that most Americans are on board with the expansion of school choice programs. In a recent poll, for example, 54 percent of respondents said they favored universal school choice policies. 

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