This report offers a framework and conceptual base for a statewide discussion of public school choice. A review of choice activities in other states and an analysis of typical components in a choice program are provided. Organized into four main chapters, the report starts with an explanation of the concept of choice followed by a review of the historical background of the modern choice movement. Next is a detailed description of the use of magnet schools in systems of choice, followed by a review of choice programs around the nation, including indepth portraits of programs in Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New York. Chapter 4 analyzes the shared characteristics of the choice programs studied, including school size, school bureaucracy, development of a sense of community, and role of parents. The fourth chapter is followed by summaries and analyses of the main types of choice programs used in the nation. Appended are 177 references, 79 interviews, Cambridge entrance criteria, citywide planning advisory council bylaws (Fall River, Massachusetts), and Minnesota Enrollment Options Program sample board resolution. (SI)