Choice as a concept seems simple enough: As a parent, you know the most and care the most about your child, and education is an indisputable part of a child's rearing. A parent ought to have the ability to make the best decision for their child's future.

We are blessed with a strong public school system in the United States and in most cases our children receive a splendid education, but we all know that right now many children in our country are trapped in failing schools. They cannot wait for another study, another task force or more excuses. Nor are huge taxes increases and higher appropriations the Answer, as many of the nation's worst school districts are also the best funded. These children need help now. Their future depends on it.

Unfortunately, many groups-threatened by accountability and the power of parents to choose the best education for their children-villainize school choice by spreading Myths about its effect. These unions and bureaucrats will stop at nothing to protect the power and authority they derive from the status quo of American education.

All Children Matter endeavors to help these children by aiding the election of legislative leaders in states across America who are committed to supporting education reform and school choice.

School choice sometimes means different solutions in different states, and All Children Matter does not advocate one means of choice over another, only to work with local leadership to elect legislative leaders who support the principles of school choice most appropriate for their respective state.

Common Myths about School Choice

Myth: School choice drains money from public schools, leaving them under-funded.

Answer: Quite the opposite is the case. In most cases, when a student leaves a public school due to a choice program that student's per-pupil funding remains intact or is only partially removed from the public school. Through school choice, public schools are aided by reduced overcrowding and a reduction in fiscal burdens.

Myth: School choice means abandoning public schools.

Answer: Public schools are a treasured part of American society and, in many cases, offer a quality education for our children. School choice does not always mean that people have to choose private or religious schools. Public schools, including charter schools, are an important part of the school choice movement. Sometimes, choosing a different public school is the best option for a child.

The school choice movement seeks better schools, whether traditional public, charter public, private or religious. The problem is that many schools are failing. Some families have the financial freedom to move to a better public school district or attend a private school, but many more families do not. School choice is the just Answer to this problem.

Myth: School choice, especially tax credits and vouchers, is just another way to benefit the wealthy and help them subsidize their children's education.

Answer: The wealthy already have school choice. Financial considerations are much less of an issue for them than finding the best school. The only families without school choice are the financially burdened, especially those who cannot afford to move to a better school district. The school choice movement desires to give these families the same freedom that the wealthy already have.

Many wealthy Americans, in lieu of government school choice programs, sponsor private scholarship programs to benefit disadvantaged children, but an individual-no matter how wealthy-can only provide so many scholarships. Meaningful public policy changes are required in order to help low-income and middle-class parents on a broader scale.

Myth: School choice hurts teachers.

Answer: No matter where students are being educated, there will always be a need for teachers. And more choices in schools also mean more choices for teachers. In fact, school choice could likely lead to more teaching jobs as schools hire more teachers to lower class sizes to make their schools more attractive to students and parents. Those most threatened by school choice are administrators who will be held more accountable for their results as well as union bosses who do not want to lose dues received from unionized teachers in public schools.

Myth: School choice merely allows the best students to abandon the public schools, causing a decline in academic excellence.

Answer: It is those students who are doing poorly whose parents are most likely to take advantage of school choice programs. Generally, students doing well are happy and see no need to change schools. Studies also show that public schools forced to compete by school choice show significant improvement. When it comes to better education for our children, everyone is a winner with school choice.

Myth: School choice is unconstitutional because students often use choice programs to attend religious schools.

Answer: Wisconsin's Supreme Court ruled that Milwaukee's voucher program was constitutional because parents and not the government were deciding where to use the vouchers. The U.S. Supreme Court voted 8-1 not to review that case, letting the decision stand. In practice and theory, school choice-especially vouchers-is no different from Pell Grants or the G.I. Bill, which is frequently referred to as one of the most important programs in the history of American higher education.

Myth: School choice leads to racial segregation.

Answer: Unfortunately, racial segregation is already widespread in America's public schools. However, an August 2002 report from the American Education Reform Council reveals that in Milwaukee, where there is a strong voucher program, the "choice" schools are more racially diverse than the traditional public schools.

Myth: School choice is a right-wing issue.

Answer: Nothing could be farther from the truth. Perhaps there is no other issue that transcends party, racial and geographic lines the way school choice does. In Washington, DC, Mayor Anthony Williams (D) and president of the city's board of education, Peggy Cafritz, both African-Americans, support school choice. In addition, the former mayor of Milwaukee, John Norquist (D) was outspoken for his support of school choice. Congressional Democrat supporters include Sen. Joe Lieberman, Sen. Diane Feinstein, Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., Rep. Gene Taylor and Rep. William Lipinski.

Those are just a few examples, but even more telling is the support among those for whom school choice offers the most hope. A May 13, 2003 article in Investor's Business Daily cites polling that places support for school choice in the African-American community at 57 percent, compared to 49 percent in the general population. Even more striking is that 75 percent of African-American voters under the age of 35 support choice and 74% of African-American households with children support choice.

A more appropriate line between choice supporters and opponents should avoid traditional political stereotypes. Instead, opponents tend to be who have a vested interest in the status quo of the education establishment. Supporters tend to be community activists who are motivated by the desire to offer equal access to a quality education for all children, regardless of race or income.

Different Forms of School Choice

Charter Schools

What is a charter school?

Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The "charter" establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school's contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor-usually a state or local school board, or a university or other institution of higher learning-to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them, and the public that funds them (www.uscharterschools.org).

What states have charter schools?

Approximately 685,000 students attend charter schools in forty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY)

Is there proof that charter schools help students perform better?

Charter schools are difficult to study and compare to public schools because many are targeted to assist specific groups, such as at-risk students or disabled students. However, the Manhattan Institute released a study in July 2003 that compared charter schools to public schools serving similar student populations.

The study revealed that charter school students performed better on reading and math schools than those at public schools. The difference is equivalent to an average of three percentile points higher in math and two percentile points higher in reading on a standardized for a student in the 50th percentile. Charter schools in Texas and Florida were the strongest, with Texas charter students improving by seven percentile points in math and eight percentile points in reading. Florida charter students improved by six percentile points in each category.

The report: www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_01.htm#01.

Tax Credits

What are examples of school choice tax credits?

Tax credits are most commonly associated with tuition tax credits where parents may receive a tax credit or deduction for all or some of the education expenses for their children. Corporations or individuals can also receive tax credits or deductions for donating money to private scholarship organizations that give scholarships to disadvantaged children.

Which states offer tax credits for education and donations?

Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Vouchers

What is a voucher?

A voucher is a predetermined amount of money, usually less than the per-pupil funding level of students in that state, that a student may use to pay for entrance to another public school or to a private or religious school. The money is given to the parent or guardian of a child, not directly to the school, so they can decide which school is best for the child.

Where are there voucher programs in the United States?

Milwaukee, Cleveland, Florida, Maine and Vermont.

Are voucher programs effective at improving schools?

Offering a better education to a disadvantaged student stuck in a failing school seems to be reward enough, but the most encouraging effect of voucher programs is that all children in affected areas seem to benefit.

Two separate studies, one of Florida voucher programs and the other investigating Milwaukee's voucher program, revealed that public schools held accountable by school choice react favorably by improving test scores and graduation rates.

An August 2003 study by the Manhattan Institute revealed that public schools in Florida where students already had access to vouchers because of the school's longtime low-performing history showed marked improvements of up to 10 scale score points on the state's standardized test, the FCAT. Public schools that due to their low scores were most challenged with the prospect of vouchers showed improvements of up to 8 points on the FCAT. However, schools receiving the grade of D (a school must have three consecutive years graded F before its students may receive vouchers) and therefore not challenged by the prospect of vouchers even though they were low-performing showed little to no improvement on the FCAT tests.

The report: www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_02.htm#01

In Milwaukee, a report released by the American Education Reform Council in October 2003 reveals similar result. From 1997 until 2003-during the time of the most rapid expansion of school choice in Milwaukee, including vouchers-Milwaukee Public School students improved on 12 of 15 education tests when compared to a national sample, and MPS students improved on 13 of 15 education tests when compared to a statewide sample. Between 1991 and 2002, the dropout rate decreased from 16.2% to 9.0%.

The report: www.schoolchoiceinfo.org/data/research/ACF6pnkza.pdf

And finally, vouchers not only offer better education options to parents and students, they also make schools more accountable to taxpayers.