Parents fought every year to end busing. They also complained about annual student reassignments, prompted by an influx of 1,000 new students a year and the opening of new schools. St. Lucie's student population is growing by about 4 percent a year, similar to Charlotte's. Controlled choice promotes family stability. When school system leaders switched to controlled choice, they divided the system into three racially diverse zones, each containing several elementary schools, one or more middle schools and one high school.
Parents rank their preferences from among the schools located in their zone.
Students are assigned to schools by computer lottery. Each school has a certain number of seats for black students and for nonblack students. Seats go first to students who have a sibling in the school, next to students who live closest to the school. After that, seats are randomly assigned. If students don't get their first or second choice, the computer puts them on a waiting list.