ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses self-rule: Should individuals be able to trump decisions made by members of Congress, state legislators, and school boards and make decisions about public policy for themselves. Policymakers who argue that American educational policy is unresponsive to individual needs—because of bureaucratic limitations and teachers' union strength—have advocated school choice. The chapter considers four forms of school choice, namely: Tiebout choice, open enrollment, vouchers, and charter schools. School choice enables some parents to opt out of traditional public school arrangements to pursue individual self-rule. The chapter also considers whether government production of education can coexist with individual choice about what that production should look like. The Progressives were so successful because they understood how institutions would lock in their vision of education even if they lost political power. To accommodate both the requirement for education and individual freedom, Milton Friedman suggested publicly funded vouchers that could be redeemed at either public or private schools.
