School Choice: Why You Need It, How You Get It

This is a well written, concise guide to the ideas behind the movement toward school choice. It particularly outlines the story of Proposition 174, the Parental Choice in Education Initiative that was on the ballot in California in 1993. This book is written by the author of that initiative, who also headed the Excellence Through Choice in Education League, the organization that promoted it. I was really amazed to find out what really happened, as we were in California at the time, and were quite excited about the initiative. It was way ahead in the polls at first, but then the educational establishment visciously attacked it using all their resources, which resulted in its defeat. This book explains how many of the arguments that its opponents used were unfounded scare tactics. In this book, you can read the actual text of the initiative itself, and make up your own mind on the merits. If you are worried about the decline of public schools, condoms in the schools, etc, and think parents should have more say over their children's education without financial penalty, then you should read this book. I also highly recommend "Financing Education: The Struggle Between Government Monopoly and Parental Control," by Quentin L. Quade. It is well worth the price. I think school choice is an idea whose time has come. The question is how the exact details should be ironed out.