U. S. D E P A R T M E N T O F E D U C A T I O N

Public School Choice

Every child in America deserves a world-class education.

Today, more than ever, a world-class education is a 

prerequisite for success. America was once the best educated 

nation in the world. A generation ago, we led all nations in 

college completion, but today, 10 countries have passed us. 

It is not that their students are smarter than ours. It is that 

these countries are being smarter about how to educate their 

students. And the countries that out-educate us today will 

out-compete us tomorrow.

We must do better. Together, we must achieve a new goal, 

that by 2020, the United States will once again lead the world 

in college completion. We must raise the expectations for 

our students, for our schools, and for ourselves—this must 

be a national priority. We must ensure that every student 

graduates from high school well prepared for college and a 

career.

 

President Barack Obama

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Public School Choice

Public School Choice

Reauthorizing the E lementary 

and Secondary Education Act

To help achieve President Obama’s stated goal of making increased expectations for our students and our schools a 

national priority, the administration has designed a blueprint for a 

reenvisioned federal role in education through the reauthorization of 

the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).The newESEA

will 

Support effective public school choice in addition to broad-based 

comprehensive state and local reforms and the expansion of 

evidence-based practices and innovations. The administration’s 

ESEA reauthorization proposal will encourage educational 

entrepreneurship by expanding competitive grants aimed at 

increasing the supply of high-quality public educational options 

available to students.

The reauthorization will focus on support for the following three 

models of public school choice.

Supporting Effective Charter Schools. The reauthorization 

proposal will provide competitive grants to states, charter school 

authorizers, charter management organizations, districts, and 

nonprofit organizations to start or expand high-performing public 

charter schools and other high-performing autonomous public 

schools, with a priority for applicants proposing to start or expand 

high-performing public charter schools. Autonomous schools are 

public schools that, as much or even more than charter schools, 
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have ongoing autonomy over key operational elements, including 

the staffing, budget, schedule, and education program. Both charter 

schools and other autonomous schools funded under this program 

must be subject to the same accountability systems as traditional 

public schools, as well as increased accountability for improving 

student academic achievement.

To ensure that funds are used to start or expand high-performing 

schools that improve outcomes for all subgroups of students, 

applicants will be evaluated based on: their record of past success 

in funding, supporting, authorizing, managing, or operating (as 

relevant) high-performing public charter schools or other highperforming autonomous public schools; their record of cutting 

off funding to or closing low-performing charter schools or other 

low-performing autonomous schools; and their commitment to 

improving the quality of their schools in the future. Grantees will 

be required to develop plans to appropriately serve all students in 

charter or other autonomous schools, including English Learners 

and students with disabilities, and to provide information to ensure 

students and families are aware of and able to apply to these schools. 

The secretary may reserve a portion of funds to improve charter 

schools’ access to facilities or to facilities financing.

To build greater capacity to support and hold schools accountable 

under this program, grantees at all levels will be allowed to set aside 

funds to improve their capacity to oversee and support schools funded 

under this program. Additionally, charter management organizations 

that commit to work with districts to support them in implementing 

effective strategies in district schools may be eligible for larger grants.

Promoting Public School Choice. The proposed reauthorization 

will continue to provide competitive grants to districts, consortia 

of districts, and states in partnership with districts to expand highquality public school educational options for students, especially 

for students in low-performing schools, and to ensure that students 

and families are aware of these options. Grantees will use funds 

to implement such options by creating or expanding inter- and 
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intradistrict choice programs, theme-based schools, high-quality 

online learning programs, or academic pathways. Grantees must also 

carry out activities to provide students, families, and the community 

with information about how to identify, evaluate, and access highquality educational options. Priority will be given to interdistrict 

choice programs and programs that provide comprehensive choices to 

every student in a district. Priority will also be given to programs that 

increase diversity in the schools served by the program.

Continuing the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. The proposed 

reauthorization will continue to provide competitive grants to 

districts to support magnet schools under a desegregation plan 

ordered by a federal court, state court, or other authorized state 

agency or official, or approved by the secretary. The reauthorized 

program will expand and improve options for students and increase 

diversity by placing a greater emphasis on funding whole-school 

magnet school programs or models that have a record of success in 

raising student academic achievement and reducing minority group 

isolation.

To help students thrive in the classroom so they can thrive 

in college and a career, the administration will provide 

students and families with increased high-quality public 

school educational options and empower them with improved 

information about the options available to them. And across 

programs, it will focus less on compliance and more on 

enabling effective local strategies to flourish.

This publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced in 

whole or in part. It comprises excerpts from A Blueprint for Reform: The 

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, U.S. 

Department of Education, March 2010. To read the full text, visit www2.

ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint.

For more information, visit www.ed.gov or call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

May 2010
 The Department of Education’s mission is to promote 

student achievement and preparation for global 

competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and 

ensuring equal access.

www.ed.gov