ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the evolution of educational governance in America, and focuses on the significant changes of the last few decades and the significant changes that may lie ahead. It review the creation of the first voucher programs to allow students to attend private schools with public funding, the ascendance of magnet and charter schools within the public sector, and the existence of open enrollment between public school districts. The Anglican and Protestant tone of the public schools also led to the first significant exodus from the public schools when Catholics rebelled. Following the edicts of Third Plenary Council of Catholic Bishops held in Baltimore in 1884, Catholic parishes were required to create private Catholic schools and parishioners were compelled to send their children to the schools. The success of choice-based school systems might depend on identifying the appropriate roles for markets and governments and ensuring that they work together productively.