An Analysis of Public-Private School Choice in Texas.

This report makes a quantitative and qualitative assessment of four concerns as they apply to school choice in Texas schools: (1) parents of students participating in choice programs select schools for reasons having little to do with academic quality; (2) school-choice plans that allow the use of taxpayer money at private schools will drain resources from the public-school system; (3) there will be few open seats available at private schools that choose to participate in a choice plan; and (4) transportation is a barrier to effective choice plans. The report is divided into four parts: Why Parents Choose Schools; Fiscal Impact of School Choice; Prospects for Private-School Entry; and Access to Transportation. Findings indicate that low-income parents provide widespread support for school choice, that the variable cost of a Texas public-school student is 87 percent to 93 percent of the total annual operating expenses, that the existing supply of private-school vacancies is extremely small in relation to the population of students that will be eligible for school choice, and that transportation will not be a major stumbling block if participating private schools provide the same services as comparable public schools. The document concludes with a strategy for implementing school choice in Texas. Contains 22 references. (RJM)