INTRODUCTION TO SCHOOL CHOICE

Every year legislatures enact new voucher, tax-funded scholarship and educational tax credit programs. School choice is winning; it’s becoming an accepted policy option on the education reform agenda.

However, each school choice program brings with it specific eligibility guidelines, regulations and other nuances that differentiate it from other programs across the country. So, to fully understand what is happening nationwide, it’s more important than ever to keep a detailed scorecard.

In 2005, new school choice programs were enacted in Utah and Ohio, and six other programs were expanded. The evidence that school choice works is too strong to deny. Consider what we have learned during the past decade:

• School choice works for students — children who use vouchers do better on basic-skills tests and are more likely to graduate.
  
• School choice is legal — the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this in 2002.
  
• School choice is popular — a majority of the public continues to believe that parents should be free to choose the best school for their child.
  
• School choice makes public schools better — the evidence shows that public schools improve when exposed to competition from school choice.
  
• School choice saves money — studies confirm school choice means big savings for states without reducing per-pupil spending in public schools.
  
• School choice is winning — every year new school choice programs are enacted while existing programs are steadily expanded; more than 635,000 children are participating in school choice.

Still, despite all this evidence, opponents have stepped up their campaigns devising new tactics to defeat school choice. For example, they now argue that any private school that takes a voucher should be regulated in the same way as a government-owned school.

In this section of the website you will find all the essential resources you need to fully understand the issue of school choice and its benefits for Indiana.