Most Southern public schools are still unintegrated despite the 1954 Supreme Court decision. This study sought to determine the causal factors related to the decision of those Negro mothers who did enroll their children in white schools. Samples were 207 Negro mothers with children in grades one through five who were enrolled in a North Carolina…

Evaluated is the adequacy of the General Statement of Policies under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to achieve the basic objective of Title VI in Alabama. Material in the report is presented under the rubrics of U.S. Office of Education (OE) strategy and policies, Alabama's reaction to the General Statement of Policies, and the effect of…

Presents a listing of ERIC documents and journal articles on public school choice as an area of education reform. Includes reports, policy arguments, and surveys of state laws and initiatives and national trends. Provides information for obtaining the listed documents. (DK)

This report examines the characteristics of students with disabilities who participate in Open Enrollment (one of seven enrollment options available in Minnesota), the reasons they participate, the sources of information, and the decision-making process involved in choosing another district. A survey was conducted of 219 families of students with…

School choice policies allow parents to exercise an active role in selecting the school or educational program their children attend. This report reviews development of school choice policies at the national and state levels. Rationales for school choice programs and key components of these programs are noted. Eight types of school choice programs…

The financing of Wisconsin's "Chapter 220" program, which is the primary means for implementing the 1988 federal court settlement of a school integration lawsuit, needs to be reformed. Total program costs may triple in 5 years, from about $32.5 million in 1986-87 to $90 million by the 1992-93 school year; per pupil costs could rise from…

This study analyzes the establishment of public alternative schools and programs from the perspective of school district management. An alternative school or program is defined as one that is full-time, is available to students on a voluntary basis, and is in some way distinctive from the district's standard program. Chapter 1 is introductory.…

This report begins with summaries of the ten popular desegregation plan strategies implemented after the 1954 Supreme Court decision. These strategies encompass the following: neighborhood schools, educational parks, voluntary transfer, gerrymandering attendance zones, closing minority schools, pupil assignment, organization by grades (Princeton…

This report chronicles the East Hartford, Connecticut, Parents' Choice Project--an education voucher plan. The plan was intended to dovetail with the school system's already-existing open enrollment policy and was to include the area's private and parochial schools, as well as all the public schools. The feasibility and implementation studies…

The article reviews the National Governors Association recommendation to allow parents to choose the public schools their children attend. Included are U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett's comments on the recommendations and comments by other concurring educators. The role of school boards as elected representatives of the community is…

Discusses decentralization and parental choice as the two central elements of the current wave of reform. Argues that the introduction of competition to schooling affects schools' need to increase their attractiveness and does not necessarily correspond with pedagogical considerations. Discusses some possible consequences of quasi-market…

This paper presents findings of a study that analyzed participation patterns and the movement of students and state funds in Ohio during the 1993-94 school year, the first year during which Ohio's interdistrict open-enrollment law was fully implemented. The theoretical framework for the study was drawn from economics and business theories of…

Pioneer Institute recently organized a roundtable in which school officials discussed their experiences with inter-district public school choice. The participants exchanged views on the current state of the choice program in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts inter-district school choice program allows parents to enroll their children at schools in…

This document examines the implementation and early effects of Minnesota's open-enrollment option, which allows families to apply to enroll their children in a public school in any nonresident school district in the state. During 1989-90, surveys were mailed to 2,663 participating families, 1,966 secondary school students, and all 432 district…

This report examines the development of school choice policies as an element of educational reform, describes open enrollment as one form of school choice, outlines other types of school choice programs, describes Minnesota's various forms of educational choice, explores arguments for and against choice, and discusses issues and concerns for…