1 America is the land of educational opportunity. We have public schools, private schools, charter schools, and home schools. As of 2003, there were approximately 50 million students attending kindergarten through twelfth grade in the United States. More than 86% of them attended public and charter schools, 11% attended private schools, and just over 2% percent were home educated.
2 One issue in public school choice is equal access to a high quality education. Public schools are responsible for providing an education for America's children. Local municipalities, states, and the federal government collect taxes to pay for our public education system.
3 In some states, parents have no choice regarding which public school their child attends. The cities and towns are divided into districts. Children are assigned to the school in the district where they live. Other states use an open enrollment policy. This allows parents to choose the public school they want their child to attend.
