Minnesota's choice plans have helped thousands of students and have garnered widespread public support. Many of the choice programs also have strong support from professional educators. However, no one in Minnesota suggests that these plans have solved all the state's problems. They are widely viewed as part of our approach to improving education. Moreover, as Minnesota Gov. Perpich told the Education Commission of the States in 1991, "We recognize that Minnesota's choice programs are not right for every state."
The enormous funding disparity between districts in some states means that cross-district choice may well be inappropriate, except for students who have not succeeded in their home districts. Dealing with funding inequities is a matter of justice - and so is insuring that students are not stuck in a one-size-fits-all public education system, with no options unless they are wealthy. Failing to include such features as equal-opportunity admission, good information for parents, transportation, opportunities for educators to create new choices, and movement toward equity in funding will result in programs that will not help to produce widespread improvements. However, well-designed choice plans can help improve achievement and narrow achievement gaps between groups of students.
Much of the serious work on school reform takes place at the school, district, and state levels. Regardless of what happens in Washington, D.C., many states and communities will move ahead on school reform. But both President Clinton and Secretary of Education Richard Riley have reiterated their support for public school choice and for chartered public school programs as part of a comprehensive reform effort. Choice, like electricity, is a powerful tool that must be handled with care. Some choice programs, including some public school choice plans create more problems than they solve. Educators need to create new options and help families understand them.
We're learning, as Chris Wilcox, one of Michigan's school choice participants, told then-Gov. Clinton and other state governor's several years ago, that choice provides "a chance to personalize" education, as well as giving students "the confidence that I can make something of myself and control my destiny."