School choice--the right, freedom, and ability of parents to choose for their children the safest and best schools--has moved front and center in the debate over how to improve education in Michigan. This three-part primer equips parents, educators, and policy makers with the facts they need to understand and advance market-based reforms that will help all Michigan schools perform at higher levels of quality and efficiency.
  The primer examines the history of government-funded and operated schooling, explains why nonmarket-oriented school reform efforts ultimately fail, and describes various school choice proposals including charter schools, inter-district choice, vouchers, tax credits, and universal tuition tax credits. Helpful appendices explain ways for grass-roots citizens to help advance school choice.

Contents

• 1. The Origins of Government Education in the United States
  
  
• Early Colonial Period to the American Revolution: A Free Market in Education
  
  
• Revolution to the 1830s: New England's First Experiment with Government Schools
  
  
• The 1830s and 40s: Horace Mann, the End of Free-Market Education, and the Rise of Government Schools
  
  
• The 1850s and Beyond: States Strengthen Government's Role in Education and Restrict School Choice
  
  
• 2. A Brief History of Government Education in Michigan
  
  
• Isaac E. Crary: The Founder of Government Education in Michigan
  
  
• John Davis Pierce: Michigan's First Superintendent of Public Instruction
  
  
• Michigan Children Become "Creatures of the State"
  
  
• Michigan Education in the Twentieth Century
  
  
• "Parochiaid" and the 1970 Amendment to the Michigan Constitution
  
  
• The Effect of the 1970 Anti-Choice Amendment
  
  

• 1. The Effects of Central Planning in Schools
  
  
• Three Categories of Education Reform
  
  
• Lack of Incentives Produces Poor Results and Exacerbates Problems
  
  
• Table 1
  
  
• 2. Types of School Choice
  
  
• Limited Educational Choice
  
  
• 1. Intra-District Choice
  
  
• 2. Inter-District Choice
  
  
• 3. Charter Schools
  
  
• Full Educational Choice
  
  
• 1. Vouchers
  
  
• 2. Private Scholarships
  
  
• 3. Tax Credits
  
  
• 4. Universal Tuition Tax Credits
  
  
• 3. School Choice in the United States and Michigan
  
  
• Limited Educational Choice Programs
  
  
• 1. Intra- and Inter-District Choice
  
  
• 2. Charter Schools
  
  
• Full Educational Choice Programs
  
  
• 1. Vouchers
  
  
• 2. Private Scholarships
  
  
• 3. Tax Credits
  
  
• 4. The School Choice Debate
  
  
• Proponents of School Choice
  
  
• Opponents of School Choice
  
  
• Spectators in the School Choice Debate
  
  

• 1. Five Strategies to Advance School Choice in Michigan
  
  
• Strategy #1: Network with Others
  
  
• Strategy #2: Use the Media to Amplify the Message
  
  
• Strategy #3: Use Effective and Broad Communication
  
  
• Strategy #4: Research the Issues
  
  
• Strategy #5: Influence the Local School Board
  
  
• 2. Dispelling the Myths about School Choice
  
  
• Myth #1: School choice will lead to social, racial, and economic stratification of students in American schools
  
  
• Myth #2: School choice violates the separation of church and state
  
  
• Myth #3: Private schools are unaccountable to the public
  
  
• Myth #4: School choice only allows private schools to do the choosing, not parents
  
  
• Myth #5: Parents will use the wrong criteria to choose schools or they will make bad decisions for their children
  
  
• Myth #6: School choice will encourage the creation of radical or fraudulent schools
  
  
• Myth #7: School choice will bankrupt the already underfunded government schools
  
  
• Myth #8: School choice does not improve education
  
  
• Myth #9: School choice is just a tax break for the rich
  
  
• Myth #10: School choice is unnecessary-government education is doing well and improving
  
  
• Myth #11: School choice is just an anti-teacher ploy
  
  
• Myth #12: School choice reforms do not address the needs of some families for transportation or special education
  
  
• Myth #13: Private schools will not be able to accommodate the influx of new students under a school choice plan
  
  

• Appendix A: Glossary
  
  
• Appendix B: Sample Letter-to-the-Editor
  
  
• Appendix C: Michigan Newspaper E-Mail Addresses
  
  
• Appendix D: School Choice Resources