The US education system teaches 53.1 million K-12 students as of 2018, according to the US Census Bureau. While most students go to the school assigned by their home address, others attend a school of their family’s choosing.
Public school choice is based on the idea that public education dollars follow the student, not the school. This means if a student goes to a different public school outside their assigned district, the dollars needed to educate that student goes with them to the new school. Public school choice has a variety of options, from public magnet or charter schools.
Some states offer parents vouchers, which use public dollars for private education. Private schools are K-12 educational institutions that are paid for through tuition. Many private schools are religious while others are non-sectarian. About three-fourths of private schools have a religious affiliation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Parents can home-school their children. The laws on home-schooling differ between states.
