ABSTRACT
In order for a healthy market system to work in education, people must have freedom to innovate, rewards for creativity, accountability for failure, and informed choice. The author chaired the Education Committee and was a member of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in 1993-1994. While in the legislature, she co-authored many of Arizona's school reform statutes, including legislation establishing charter schools and open enrollment. Charter schools are a prime example of the benefits of parental choice. Expanding parental choice continues to be a major objective in Arizona and many other reform-minded states because people look at charter schools as the beginning of parental choice. To inform parents, the 1994 law forced all schools to report objective information to the state which is recorded on the school report card. Report cards include standardized test scores, disciplinary and criminal infraction statistics, attendance figures, personnel information such as the numbers of certified and uncertified teachers, and the school calendar.
