An Intro to the School Choice Guidebook

Each year the American Federation for Children releases a comprehensive guide to the nation’s private school choice programs. Previously called The School Choice Yearbook, this year we’ve changed the name to The School Choice Guidebook and included some new information.
In addition to school choice basics, such as defining the difference between a tax credit scholarship program and education savings accounts, the 2017-18 School Choice Guidebook compiles data about every private school choice program in the country, including but not limited to: the number of students enrolled, the requirements for participating schools, student eligibility, and program funding.
The American Federation for Children believes that school choice programs should be accountable to the families they serve and the taxpayers who help fund them. That’s why we support and have helped create policies that include common sense academic, administrative, and financial accountability. We do not believe in restricting access to or underfunding programs, which results in tens of thousands of children being turned away from high quality educational options every year. To emphasize and highlight the importance of such factors, we’ve included program rankings in the Guidebook for the first time.
We hope this publication will continue to serve as a resource to lawmakers and staff, policy organizations, the media, fellow advocates, and others. As new school choice programs pass into law and existing programs continue to grow, it’s important to support, promote, and enact robust policies that open the door for every child to attend a school that best meets his or her needs. We look forward to continuing our work to make such educational options a reality for all children in America.