School Choice: 2006 Progress Report. Backgrounder No. 1970

Parental choice in education is growing. A dozen states and the District of Columbia provide a variety of private school choice programs. Forty states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter schools laws. A growing body of evidence suggests that parents of students participating in school choice programs are happier with their children's schools. Students attending private schools using scholarships have shown higher test scores than their peers in public school. Public schools that face competition from school choice programs have shown improved performance. The success of school choice programs is leading more policymakers to support expanding parental choice in education. In 2006, eight states enacted new initiatives or expanded existing school choice programs. Despite this progress, millions of children who could benefit from the opportunity to attend schools of their parents' choice are enrolled in persistently underperforming public schools. Congress and state lawmakers are urged to implement student-centered reforms to give all families the opportunity to choose safe and effective schools for their children. An Overview of K-12 School Choice Programs across the United States is appended. (Contains 38 footnotes.)