Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)

THIS EVALUATIVE REPORT OF A FREE CHOICE-OPEN ENROLLMENT PROGRAM, IN WHICH MINORITY GROUP CHILDREN HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFER TO SCHOOLS OUTSIDE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, RECORDED THE RESPONSES OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN THE RECEIVING AND SENDING SCHOOLS. ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM WAS BASED ON 2-DAY VISITS TO 63 SCHOOLS TO…

Although schools have increased influence over the social-psychological development of youth, they do not provide diversity in nonacademic domains. In addition, the apparent diversity among institutions is of little value because institutions are not located or administered in such a way that individuals can choose freely between them.…

Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) students scoring at the 77%ile and above were exposed to three different treatments: (1) a Magnet Plan involving the reassignment of students and teachers to special schools; (2) a Vanguard Plan for students and teachers within a school; and (3) unspecified instructional enrichment provided in…

Plaintiffs are students enrolled in Franklin K. Lane High School, and they sue on behalf of all others similarly situated for an adjudication that their school has been so zoned as to make and keep it a segregated school in spite of its location. They moved to enjoin further enforcement of the school's zoning. The board moved for summary judgment.…

This collection presents a sampling of opinions of both proponents and opponents in the school choice debate from a variety of professional perspectives, including academics, bureaucrats, politicians, union leaders, economists, lawyers, parents, and activists. The following essays are included: (1) "School Choice Promotes Educational…

This New York City school district educational project dealt with a projected 13,605 children who changed schools under the Free Choice Open Enrollment Program. The program allows parents to transfer their children from predominantly Negro-Puerto Rican schools to schools with better educational facilities and a more varied ethnic population. The…

This paper, presented in 1971 at the National Council for Social Studies Conference in Denver, advocates structuring elementary and secondary social studies programs around social intelligence in the Deweyan sense rather than building them around ideology. Too often programs espousing an ideology are touted as the best approach toward solving…

The expectations of parents of students with disabilities who transferred schools through an open enrollment option were examined in this qualitative study. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents of 18 children and adolescents who transferred their child through Minnesota's open enrollment law. Interviews addressed: the student's history…

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act, enacted by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1985, allows 11th- and 12th-grade high school students to take courses, for credit, in colleges, junior colleges, and vocational-technical institutes despite opposition from high school authorities. Students may use credits from these courses to count toward…

There are parents and students who are to be won or lost depending on which sector--public or private--answers their calls for programs to match their learning styles and desire for rigor, vitality, and variety. This report examines where choice has evolved from, what it offers parents and students, and how its disappearance could affect this…

A PROFESSIONAL STUDY WAS CONTRACTED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS TO ASSESS THE LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT'S PROGRESS IN MOVING FROM A DUAL TO AN INTEGRATED SCHOOL SYSTEM. AN EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY ATTITUDES AND THE EXTENT OF INFLUENCE GIVEN BY CIVIC LEADERS INDICATED GENERALLY FAVORABLE SUPPORT FOR IMPROVEMENTS ALREADY…

This qualitative study examined the impact of open enrollment policies in Minnesota on eight school districts with larger than average transfers of students with disabilities. A series of case studies investigated implementation issues, effects on special education programs, effects on decision making in funding and planning, perceptions and…

The opinions of educators who would be affected by school-choice and voucher plans were studied in a survey of 144 teachers (84 percent female) from 6 elementary public schools in Chicago (Illinois). Survey questions were derived from an extensive review of the literature. Seventy-seven percent of teachers agreed with interdistrict choice, but…

This monograph analyzes trends in American educational philosophy and history in its proposal to implement an all-public statewide school voucher system. Following an introduction, section 1, "Alternative Voucher Systems," discusses three concepts: universal unregulated vouchers, favored by Milton Friedman; regulated compensatory…