Editing School choice (section)

=== In the United States ===
{{main| School choice in the United States}}
In 1955, economist [[Milton Friedman]] proposed using [[free market]] principles in assigning students to schools, which he believed would improve the [[Education in the United States|United States public school system]]. The typical practice at that time was to assign children to the public school nearest their home. Friedman proposed that parents should be able to receive education funds in the form of [[school voucher]]s, which would allow them to choose their children's schools from among public, private, and religious and non-religious options.<ref>{{cite news |year=1955 |title=The Role of Government in Education |url=http://www.edchoice.org/The-Friedmans/The-Friedmans-on-School-Choice/The-Role-of-Government-in-Education-(1995).aspx}}</ref>

[[Virginia]]'s 1956 [[Stanley Plan]] used vouchers to finance white-only private schools known as [[segregation academies]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=James Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZqeQbkX8lsC&q=+Five+Miles+Away,+a+World+Apart:+One+City,+Two+Schools,+and+the+Story+of+Educational+Opportunity+in+Modern+Americ |title=Five Miles Away, A World Apart: One City, Two Schools, and the Story of Educational Opportunity in Modern America |date=6 August 2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-532738-0 |page=41 |language=en |chapter=Stanley Plan |access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref> Other states followed until the practice was disallowed by ''[[Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County]]'' (1964).<ref>{{ussc|name=Griffin v. School Board of Prince Edward County|volume=377|page=218|year=1964}}</ref>

[[Milwaukee]] mayor [[John Norquist]] (D) and Wisconsin governor [[Tommy Thompson]] (R) initiated school vouchers in Milwaukee in 1990.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Malanga |first=Steven |date=2022-07-11 |title=School Choice Rising |url=https://www.city-journal.org/school-choice-rising |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=City Journal |language=en}}</ref> Minnesota was the first state to have a charter school law and the nation's first charter school was [[City Academy High School]], which opened in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1992.<ref name="auto" /> California created its District of Choice program in 1993. It allows California public school district to enroll students residing outside district lines.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quackenbush |first1=Chuck |title=Assembly Third Reading-AB19 |url=http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/93-94/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ab_19_cfa_930614_094114_asm_floor |access-date=7 August 2017 |website=Official California Legislative Information |publisher=California State Assembly}}</ref>

In 1995, Friedman slammed the public school system for its “dismal results: some relatively good government schools in high-income suburbs and communities; very poor government schools in our inner cities.”<ref name=":02" /> In 1996, Friedman and his wife, [[Rose Friedman]], founded the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice (later [[EdChoice]]).<ref>{{cite news |date=February 10, 2009 |title=Friedman Foundation Calls for Tax Credits to Benefit K–12 Education |work=Inside Indiana Business |url=http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=33913 |url-status=dead |access-date=12 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511122302/http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=33913 |archive-date=11 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dodd |first=D. Aileen |date=February 17, 2010 |title=Rally to unite public, private groups that back vouchers |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/rally-to-unite-public-310078.html |access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="sullivan22">{{cite magazine |last1=Sullivan |first1=Maureen |date=July 30, 2016 |title=Milton Friedman's Name Disappears From Foundation, But His School-Choice Beliefs Live On |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maureensullivan/2016/07/30/milton-friedmans-name-disappears-from-foundation-but-his-school-choice-beliefs-live-on/#ed848a179437 |magazine=Forbes |access-date=14 September 2016}}</ref>

In ''[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]'' in 2002, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] declared that school vouchers could be used to pay for education in sectarian schools without violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. As a result, states are free to enact voucher programs that provide funding for any school of the parent's choosing so long as the programs are religiously neutral—neither favoring nor disfavoring religious schools.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/536/639/|title=Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002)|website=Justia Law}}</ref>

In 2004, Congress enacted the [[D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program]], which provided scholarships to 2000 low-income students. In 2008, students came from families with an average income of $22,736, approximately 107 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four.<ref name="voucher222">{{cite news |last=Strauss |first=Valerie |author2=Bill Turque |date=9 June 2008 |title=Fate of D.C. Voucher Program Darkens |pages=1–2 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060802041.html?hpid=topnews |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref>

In Iowa, the Educational Opportunities Act was enacted in 2006, creating tax credits for eligible donors to scholarship-granting organizations (SGO)s. These tax caps were $5 million originally, but in 2007 increased to $7.5 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=School tuition organization tax credit |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/rule/11-26-2014.701.42.32.pdf |access-date=October 16, 2018 |website=iowa.gov |publisher=Iowa Department of Revenue}}</ref>

In 2007 [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] launched alternatives to poorly performing local schools. Governor [[Chris Christie]] worked with mayor [[Cory Booker]] to expand charter schools there.

By 2009 school choice had become a partisan issue. Democratic support waned, while Republican support continued to broaden. The Democratic-led Congress attempted to phase out the DC program, despite a waiting list of 9,000 low income children.<ref name="voucher222"/> The [[Barack Obama|Obama]] administration provided funding incentives to states and school districts to increase the number of charter schools.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=I. Frankenberg II. Siegel-Hawley III. Wang |first=I. Erica II. Genevieve III. Jia |year=2011 |title=Choice without equity: Charter school segregation |journal=Education Policy Analysis Archives |volume=19 |page=1 |doi=10.14507/epaa.v19n1.2011 |via=ERIC|doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2011 Republicans became the majority and renewed the program.<ref name=":02" /> In the 2009 and 2010 elections, school-choice-supporting Republicans gained seven governors’ seats. 12 states expanded school choice in 2011. Newly Republican states enacted half of that year's school-choice legislation.<ref name=":02" />

In 2011 Wisconsin opened the Milwaukee program to all city students and introduced a similar plan in [[Racine, Wisconsin|Racine]]. In 2013 vouchers were made available to qualifying families across Wisconsin, reaching more than 14,500 students in 2022.<ref name=":02" /> Also in 2011 Florida grew special-ed vouchers, simplified the rules that allowed students to transfer out of failing schools, and increased the cap on charter schools. Oklahoma created a tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students. Indiana removed the limit on charter schools, allowed universities to authorize charters, and established vouchers for low- and middle-income students. Arizona created ESAs for special-needs students. Ohio doubled the state’s scholarship program and increased scholarship/tutoring funding for low-income students in Cleveland. Louisiana added scholarships for special-needs students.<ref name=":02" /> A poll found that 60 percent of American voters felt that tax credits support parents whereas 26 percent felt that tax credits support religion.<ref name="FDU">{{Cite web |title=Public Blesses Arizona Christian School Tuition |url=http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/taxcredits/ |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=publicmind.fdu.edu}}</ref>

The Arizona Individual Private School Tuition Tax Credit Program<ref>{{cite web |title=Format Document |url=http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/43/01089.htm&Title=43&DocType=ARS |website=www.azleg.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Format Document |url=http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/43/01089-03.htm&Title=43&DocType=ARS |website=www.azleg.gov}}</ref> in 2014 offered $1,053 (individuals), and couples ($2,106).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Credits for Contributions to Certified School Tuition Organizations &#124; Arizona Department of Revenue |url=https://azdor.gov/tax-credits/credits-contributions-certified-school-tuition-organizations |website=azdor.gov}}</ref> Nearly 24,000 children received scholarships in the 2011–2012 school year. The program started in 1998, reaching over 77,500 taxpayers, providing over $500 million in scholarship money for children at private schools across the state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Private School Tuition Organization Income Tax Credits In Arizona: A Summary of Activity FY 2013 |url=https://www.azdor.gov/sites/default/files/media/REPORTS_CREDITS_2013_fy2013-private-school-tuition-org-credit-report.pdf |publisher=Arizona Department of Revenue |page=5}}</ref> The Arizona program survived a court challenge, in part, because the program permitted students to use the scholarship money on a range of educational expenses, not just private schools. This distinguished the program from an earlier voucher program that the Arizona Supreme Court had held was unconstitutional because students could only use the voucher at private schools.<ref name="scotus">Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn et al. 987 U.S. 9 (2011)</ref>

Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning is the Georgia program that offers a state income tax credit to donors of scholarships to private schools.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Daniel |date=October 27, 2009 |title=GOAL to aid private schools, donors: Saturday is the deadline for a tax break to benefit schools and their contributors. |work=Rome News-Tribune |url=http://romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-%20&id=4152577-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-&instance=home_news |url-status=dead |access-date=2009-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715201729/http://romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-%20&id=4152577-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-&instance=home_news |archive-date=2011-07-15}}</ref><ref>Allen, Greg, [https://www.npr.org/2012/08/15/158691518/tax-credit-scholarships-reignite-voucher-debate "Tax Credit Scholarships Reignite Voucher Debate"], [[NPR]] ''All Things Considered'', August 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-15.</ref> Representative David Casas passed school choice legislation in Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HB 1133 – Education; student scholarship organizations; provisions |url=http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/sum/hb1133.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303232226/http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/sum/hb1133.htm |archive-date=2008-03-03 |access-date=2010-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgia State Representative David Casas discussing HB 1133 and HB 325, scholarship tax credits |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617T8oCoH_0 |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

About 1.8 million children were home educated in 2012.<ref name="nces.ed.gov" /> In 2014 a lawsuit sought to challenge the legality of the Florida voucher program but was dismissed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Postal |first=Leslie |date=August 28, 2015 |title=Lawsuit calls Florida voucher program unconstitutional |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-school-voucher-lawsuit-20140828-story.html |access-date=January 15, 2015 |website=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref>

In 2015, 14 cities had 30% or more of their students in charter schools, led by [[Orleans Parish School District|New Orleans]], with 93%<ref name="Elliot">{{cite news |last=Elliot |first=Scott |date=2005-12-02 |title=Catholic schools: Victims of choice |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |url=http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2005/12/02/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2008-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905062647/http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2005/12/02/index.html |archive-date=2008-09-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=O'Donnell |first1=Patrick |last2=Dealer |first2=The Plain |date=2015-11-12 |title=Cleveland a national leader in charter school enrollment |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2015/11/cleveland_and_dayton_are_national_leaders_in_charter_school_enrollment.html |access-date=2021-12-02 |website=cleveland |language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2016}}, 47 California school districts and 10,000 students participated in District of Choice, serving five percent of school districts and 0.2 percent of students.<ref name=":0" />

In the 2020 ''[[Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue]] case'', the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled that states could not restrict religious schools from participating in voucher programs simply because the school was run by a religious organization. The Court further ruled in ''[[Carson v. Makin]]'' that states could not bar parents from participating in a school choice program because they sent their children to a school that provides religious instruction. To do so would violate the [[Free Exercise Clause]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carson v. Makin, 596 U.S. ___ (2022) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/596/20-1088/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, 591 U.S. ___ (2020) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/591/18-1195/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>

By 2021 school choice students numbered 621,000, up from 200,000 in 2011. The next expansion was driven by [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|pandemic]]-related dissatisfaction with public school policies and curricula. While many European school systems reopened in spring 2020, American public schools generally remained closed until the fall of 2021. For the 2020–2021 school year, public school enrollment fell by 3 percent. Private and charter schools grew an estimated 7 percent. 18 states either initiated school-choice programs or expanded offerings, making 3.6 million American students eligible for school choice and/or [[homeschool]] support programs. Several states expanded eligibility to include middle-class children.<ref name=":02" />

Also in Florida directed ~$200 million to increased low-income scholarships, while raising the income cap to $100,000, to reach an estimated 60,000 more students. In June 2021 New Hampshire established ESAs, with an income cap of $79,500. By November, New Hampshire 1,600 students had applied. In 2018–19 in West Virginia, teachers fought a charter expansion, twice launching strikes. In 2020 Republicans won a state legislative supermajority and offered ESAs to students of all incomes.<ref name=":02" />

In 2022 Alabama increased scholarship funding by 50%, to $30B. South Dakota expanded tax-credit scholarships.<ref name=":02" /> As of May 2022, 72% of US school parents favored vouchers, 76% supported ESAs, and 71% favored charter schools in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Americans think education is headed... |url=https://edchoice.morningconsultintelligence.com/ |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 22, 2022 |title=School Choice Polling |url=https://www.federationforchildren.org/school-choice-polling/}}</ref>