As education choice programs expand, the promise of securing better educational opportunities remains unevenly realized for many families. This report examines the challenges families face and offers practical solutions to help education choice programs deliver on their potential. The report reveals that while some families benefit from education choice, many—particularly those in rural areas, low-income communities, and families of color or with children who have disabilities—encounter significant obstacles. Information gaps, competitive admissions processes, and a shortage of desirable educational options limit families’ ability to secure the education they need.
key findings
Obstacles limit families’ success in education choice: Education choice can help families secure educational opportunities that work for them and their children. But whether this occurs depends on many factors—are desirable options available? Can families find reliable information? Can families “win” the admissions lottery? Oftentimes the answer to these questions is no, especially for marginalized families.
These obstacles replicate the very inequities education choice is designed to address: Low-income families, families of color, and those with children who have disabilities have fewer desirable options in education choice programs and must make larger compromises than affluent families, white families, and those whose children do not have a disability.
Families suffer negative consequences when education choice fails to deliver: For too many families, the search for educational opportunity yields disappointment, landing them right back where they started: in traditional public schools that do not meet their needs. Families’ failure to secure what they need from education choice carries significant risk of harm.
Addressing families’ challenges is essential and difficult: Policymakers have long experimented with interventions to improve fairness, access, and families’ success with education choice, but none have closed the gap between the educational haves and have-nots.
Read the report to see actionable steps and strategies for policymakers and funders to address systemic gaps and strengthen families’ access to robust educational options.
