Heritage Foundation, October 2001
The Heritage Foundation recently released the sixth edition of its comprehensive annual look at school choice policies and trends across the nation. This year's volume, edited by Robert E. Moffit, Jennifer J. Garrett and Janice A. Smith, features a brief chapter reviewing recent choice research and an interactive map of the U.S. that links to profiles of each state. Included are all the usual statistics on K-12 enrollment, expenditures, student achievement and teacher salaries; charter schools; and publicly and privately funded scholarship programs. The editors also include each state's ranking on the Manhattan Institute's Education Freedom Index, which measures the extent of choice in a state. The report finds that school choice is flourishing: a record 37 states (and the District of Columbia) have charter school laws on the books, 31 states (compared with 18 last year) have "considered tax credits or deductions for educational expenses or contributions to scholarship programs for low-income students," and thousands of kids are attending private schools thanks to publicly and privately funded voucher programs. Check this resource out at http://www.heritage.org/schools. Hard copies (ISBN 0-89195-100-8) can be had for $12.95 from the Heritage Publications Office, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-4999, 800-544-4843. Discounted copies are available if you order online at http://www.heritage.org/bookstore/.
