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There has long existed a tradition of school choice in the American education system. Wealthy parents exercise school choice routinely – for example, by choosing to live in a neighborhood served by a school of their choice, or by opting to pay tuition for private school. These choices, however, are far more accessible to those who can afford to make residential decisions and significant financial investments based on their children’s education. Low-income parents face a far different reality; resigning themselves to poor schools and bleak educational futures for their children due to a lesser economic status. In our current educational system, low-income families are persistently and acutely disenfranchised from exercising choice.
Listed below is a glossary of current school choice options favored by Hispanic CREO:
Charter schools are public, government-operated schools that operate under a “charter,” or a set mission, goals and method. While charter schools face far fewer regulations than traditional public schools, they are held strictly accountable to student performance, which ensure their continued funding and charter.
Homeschooling refers to when students between the ages of 5 and 17 are taught at home, typically by their parents. Homeschooling has been steadily growing in popularity (approximately 2 percent of American students are homeschooled as of 2005).Magnet schools offer specialized curriculum – for example, with a focus on math, science and technology – to a select group of students. These programs typically have an admissions process, and they have been used as a mechanism for racially integrating public schools.Private schools are owned and regulated by nongovernmental bodies, often religious organizations or a board of trustees, and are often an option for voucher recipients. Eligible voucher students who are accepted by the private school utilize the voucher scholarship for tuition costs.Public school choice is a parent’s ability to choose among different public schools for their child. Intra-district choice refers to a parent choosing a school within their home district, while inter-district means crossing district lines through choice. The availability of these options varies within each state, as some states restrict student transfer numbers or deny transfer altogether.Tax-funded scholarship programs are for individuals and/or corporations, which contribute to private charitable organizations, which use the donations to fund scholarships for students. These scholarships, which are generally need-based, fund expenses such as private school tuition, transportation, and tutoring for low-income students. Tax credits are also available to parents for certain educational costs, such as private school tuition. In 2001, Congress passed the Education Savings Account (ESA), a tax benefit (in form of deduction credits or tax-free earnings) that subsidizes parental payments for private school tuition. Examples: Arizona (Individual and Corporate Tax Credits, toll-free 877-970-2400), Florida (Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program), Illinois (Education Expense Credit), Iowa, Minnesota (KidsFirst Scholarship), Pennsylvania (Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program)
Virtual schools are online educational services provided by organizations to students with diverse academic needs. The federal Office of Innovation and Improvement supports virtual schools as part of the “supplemental educational service provision” under the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act.
Voucher programs are scholarships, which allow parents to send their children to either religious or non-religious private or public schools depending on each programs eligibility criteria.
There are a number of different types of voucher programs, including failing schools vouchers, which are scholarships available to students in poor-performing public schools to transfer to a better performing public, private or religious school of their choice. There are no income requirements, and eligibility is based solely on the success of individual public schools. An example of this type of program is administered through the EdChoice program in Ohio.
Means-tested vouchers, another type of program, are scholarships enabling income-eligible families, usually in limited numbers, to direct funds set aside for education by the government to pay for tuition at the public, private or religious school of their choice. This type of program exists in Ohio, in Milwaukee (the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program) and Washington, D.C. (D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program).
Special education vouchers are scholarships available to students with disabilities and special educational needs. These scholarships are available in the states of Ohio (Autism Scholarship Program), Arizona (Disability Scholarship Program, toll-free 877-970-2400), Florida (McKay Scholarship), and Utah (Carson Smith Scholarships for Students with Special Needs). |
