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The term "school choice" can encompass many things, but it is foremost the idea that parents want the best and most appropriate education for their children. The quest for the "right fit" will lead one family to embrace traditional homeschooling with parents as teachers and builders of curriculum and will lead another family to sell their home and move to the school district that test scores and graduation rates show is the best available to them. These options have been around for almost as long as public education has existed, and they are tried and tested.
But an expanded view of school choice can also include - depending on where you live – magnet or lottery schools, charter schools, tax-credit scholarships, open enrollment, and vouchers for families to attend private school using public funds. Below you will find information, resources, and research about school choice in all of its forms in the United States and links to Ohio's three current school choice initiatives—the Educational Choice Scholarship Program, the Autism Scholarship Program, and the Cleveland Scholarship Program.
But an expanded view of school choice can also include - depending on where you live – magnet or lottery schools, charter schools, tax-credit scholarships, open enrollment, and vouchers for families to attend private school using public funds. Below you will find information, resources, and research about school choice in all of its forms in the United States and links to Ohio's three current school choice initiatives—the Educational Choice Scholarship Program, the Autism Scholarship Program, and the Cleveland Scholarship Program.
A National Perspective
The Alliance for School Choice - www.allianceforschoolchoice.org – includes a map feature on their website to find out about school choice initiatives all around the country
The National Center on School Choice - www.vanderbilt.edu/schoolchoice/ - is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Its lead institution is Vanderbilt University and is housed on the campus of Peabody College. Its website remains up to minute on both public and private school choice issues
The website of The Center for Education Reform - www.edreform.com/school_choice/ - features extensive links to state and local groups championing school choice options in their areas
The Black Alliance for Educational Options – www.baeo.org – is working to increase access to high-quality educational options for Black children by actively supporting parental choice policies and programs that empower low-income and working-class Black families in many areas of the country
Educational Research in Ohio
Friedman Foundation - State Research (2011)
Lessons for Ohio from Florida's K-12 Education Revolution The phenomenal advancements of Florida’s low-income and minority students that stemmed from their education reform package in the late 1990s are a call to Ohio to make key changes to raise achievement levels for the students who are most vulnerable.
Ohio Policy Recommendations
ASC School Choice Yearbook (2009-10)
This edition of The Alliance for School Choice’s award-winning flagship publication gives you all of the latest data, trends, and research regarding America's 18 school voucher and scholarship tax credit programs.
Friedman Foundation Opinion Poll of Ohioans (2009)
Ohio's Opinion in K-12 Education and School Choice demonstrates solid support for Ohio's three state-funded scholarship programs among voters across the political spectrum.
Executive Summary
Friedman Foundation study of EdChoice (2008)
Promising Start: An Empirical Analysis of How EdChoice Vouchers Affect Public Schools is the first empirical study to examine the effects of Ohio's EdChoice voucher program. Using publicly available data, it measures the program's effect on academic outcomes in public schools where students are eligible for vouchers.
Fordham "Fund the Child" (2008)
Fund the Child: Bringing Equity, Autonomy, and Portability to Ohio School Finance notes that despite nearly two decades of blue ribbon commissions, expert analyses, passionate op-eds and speeches, a series of court rulings, reams of legislative changes, and the expenditure of billions more dollars, Ohio still does not have a school funding system that delivers the results the Buckeye State urgently needs.
ASC School Choice Yearbook (2007)
School Choice Yearbook 2007 is designed to serve as a reference guide to school choice with facts, information, polling data, and updated details on each of the school choice programs available throughout the country.
Buckeye Institute– intra-district spending patterns unfair (2007)
Shortchanging Disadvantaged Students: An Analysis of Intra-district Spending Patterns in Ohio is an analysis of legislative efforts to provide supplemental resources for disadvantaged students are well-conceived… the money earmarked for this purpose is not reaching its target. Put simply, state equity efforts are being contravened by the way that districts allocate their funds to individual school buildings.
Fordham Ohioans on schooling opinion surveys (2007)
Ohioans' Views on Education 2007 is a survey that looks at Ohioan's opinions on issues of school quality and funding, academic standards, school reforms, proposals to improve how the public schools are run, teacher quality, charter schools and school vouchers.
Achieve Report (2007)
Creating a World-Class Education System in Ohio is a report intended for Ohio policymakers and all other stakeholders interested in moving Ohio's K-12 system to world-class levels.
Friedman study on segregation and Cleveland (2006)
Segregation Levels in Cleveland Public Schools and the Cleveland Voucher Program examines the widespread claims that private schools have high segregation levels and that vouchers will lead to greater segregation. This study finds that both assertions are empirically unsupportable. Private schools participating in Cleveland's voucher program are much less segregated than Cleveland's public schools. This means that students using the voucher program are gaining access to a more integrated school experience.
LOEO study of Autism Scholarship (2005)
Formative Evaluation of Ohio's Autism Scholarship Program reviews the first implementation of this scholarship program created to give parents of autistic children the option to seek alternate special education services for their children, rather than those offered by their school district.
BAEO Lies and Distortions (2001)
Lies and Distortions: The Campaign Against School Vouchers argues that organized support organized opponents of tax-supported school vouchers purposely issue inaccurate statements about parental school choice. This study focuses on how these untrue statements adversely affected parental choice in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Florida.
Buckeye Institute overview of CSTP (1998)
Giving Choice a Chance: Cleveland and the Future of School Reform is an examination the country's first voucher program to include sectarian schools. Despite opposition from teacher's unions, Ohio found legislative success during a time of failed school choice ballot initiatives.
Lessons for Ohio from Florida's K-12 Education Revolution The phenomenal advancements of Florida’s low-income and minority students that stemmed from their education reform package in the late 1990s are a call to Ohio to make key changes to raise achievement levels for the students who are most vulnerable.
Ohio Policy Recommendations
ASC School Choice Yearbook (2009-10)
This edition of The Alliance for School Choice’s award-winning flagship publication gives you all of the latest data, trends, and research regarding America's 18 school voucher and scholarship tax credit programs.
Friedman Foundation Opinion Poll of Ohioans (2009)
Ohio's Opinion in K-12 Education and School Choice demonstrates solid support for Ohio's three state-funded scholarship programs among voters across the political spectrum.
Executive Summary
Friedman Foundation study of EdChoice (2008)
Promising Start: An Empirical Analysis of How EdChoice Vouchers Affect Public Schools is the first empirical study to examine the effects of Ohio's EdChoice voucher program. Using publicly available data, it measures the program's effect on academic outcomes in public schools where students are eligible for vouchers.
Fordham "Fund the Child" (2008)
Fund the Child: Bringing Equity, Autonomy, and Portability to Ohio School Finance notes that despite nearly two decades of blue ribbon commissions, expert analyses, passionate op-eds and speeches, a series of court rulings, reams of legislative changes, and the expenditure of billions more dollars, Ohio still does not have a school funding system that delivers the results the Buckeye State urgently needs.
ASC School Choice Yearbook (2007)
School Choice Yearbook 2007 is designed to serve as a reference guide to school choice with facts, information, polling data, and updated details on each of the school choice programs available throughout the country.
Buckeye Institute– intra-district spending patterns unfair (2007)
Shortchanging Disadvantaged Students: An Analysis of Intra-district Spending Patterns in Ohio is an analysis of legislative efforts to provide supplemental resources for disadvantaged students are well-conceived… the money earmarked for this purpose is not reaching its target. Put simply, state equity efforts are being contravened by the way that districts allocate their funds to individual school buildings.
Fordham Ohioans on schooling opinion surveys (2007)
Ohioans' Views on Education 2007 is a survey that looks at Ohioan's opinions on issues of school quality and funding, academic standards, school reforms, proposals to improve how the public schools are run, teacher quality, charter schools and school vouchers.
Achieve Report (2007)
Creating a World-Class Education System in Ohio is a report intended for Ohio policymakers and all other stakeholders interested in moving Ohio's K-12 system to world-class levels.
Friedman study on segregation and Cleveland (2006)
Segregation Levels in Cleveland Public Schools and the Cleveland Voucher Program examines the widespread claims that private schools have high segregation levels and that vouchers will lead to greater segregation. This study finds that both assertions are empirically unsupportable. Private schools participating in Cleveland's voucher program are much less segregated than Cleveland's public schools. This means that students using the voucher program are gaining access to a more integrated school experience.
LOEO study of Autism Scholarship (2005)
Formative Evaluation of Ohio's Autism Scholarship Program reviews the first implementation of this scholarship program created to give parents of autistic children the option to seek alternate special education services for their children, rather than those offered by their school district.
BAEO Lies and Distortions (2001)
Lies and Distortions: The Campaign Against School Vouchers argues that organized support organized opponents of tax-supported school vouchers purposely issue inaccurate statements about parental school choice. This study focuses on how these untrue statements adversely affected parental choice in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Florida.
Buckeye Institute overview of CSTP (1998)
Giving Choice a Chance: Cleveland and the Future of School Reform is an examination the country's first voucher program to include sectarian schools. Despite opposition from teacher's unions, Ohio found legislative success during a time of failed school choice ballot initiatives.
Programs in Ohio
While there are many exciting developments across the country, Ohio currently leads the nation in offering meaningful options for parents who want to provide a better education for their children. School Choice Ohio firmly believes that more options means more chances for all of Ohio's students to excel.
You can find more information about the Educational Choice Scholarship Program (EdChoice), the Autism Scholarship Program and the Cleveland Scholarship Program by clicking here.
Do you have any questions? If so, please don't hesitate to Contact Us.
