Opportunity, Flexibility, Access to Better Schools
Education choice is a reform movement focused on affording parents the opportunity, flexibility,
freedom and access to choose which school their child attends.
We need education choice to give parents access the best school option for their children through
opportunity scholarships that help students thrive.
Key Messages/Narrative – Overview
 Too many families throughout Minnesota have little or no options when it comes to
a good K-12 school.
 A child’s future in life should not be determined by the ZIP code he or she is born
in, or by a parent’s economic situation.
 We must enact policies that provide the flexibility and freedom for parents to choose a
school that is the right fit for each student.
 All Minnesota parents should have the opportunity to access the best school option
for their children.
 We should remove financial barriers that prevent children from being able to attend schools
that meet their needs.
 Education choice supports both private and public schools
 Research from several sources show that education choice:
o Improves academic outcomes for students in private schools and in public schools
o Moves students into more integrated classrooms, and
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Thirty-three empirical studies (including all methods) have examined education choice’s
effect on students’ academic outcomes in public schools. Of those, 31 find choice improved
public schools. Very few, if any, education reform initiatives can replicate this result.
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For example, Arizona has been a leader for over 15 years in offering robust education
choice options for parents. In 2015, the Nation’s Report Card found that Arizona made the
most gains in reading and third-most gains in math on its assessment. Education choice
improves outcomes for students in both public and private school settings.
Key Messages/Narrative – About OAK
 OAK’s mission is to ensure that every child in Minnesota has access to an education
that will help them thrive.
 We do not accept the status quo as inevitable.
 We believe in high expectations for all children.
 We believe schools – public or private – should serve the public good.
 We support the belief that every child – regardless of economic status – has the capacity to
learn and achieve in school.
 OAK supports opportunity scholarships for low-and-middle income students to
attend a school of choice in Minnesota.
Key Messages/Narrative – Opportunity Scholarships
 Opportunity scholarships provide funding to low- and middle-income children to
attend a private school of choice. They are funded through private contributions
made to non-profit scholarship granting organizations.
 A statewide survey conducted in April 2015 in Minnesota found strong support for
opportunity scholarships. Nearly two-thirds of Minnesotans said they support opportunity
scholarships. In addition, approximately 78% of African-Americans and 98% of Latinos in
Minnesota support opportunity scholarships.
 Education choice works. In states that have enacted education choice, studies have
shown:
 Improved academic outcomes and graduation rates.
 Improved parental satisfaction with their child’s academic development and satisfaction with
their child’s school overall.
 Increased student achievement both for students who exercise school choice as well as
students who remain in public schools. Arizona provide the best and latest example of
education choice improving outcomes for both public and private schools, according to the
Nation’s Report Card.
 Increased opportunities for parents to access educational options that meet their child’s
needs.
 Increased parental engagement in schools and communities after choosing a private school.
 States that have created opportunity scholarship programs have seen strong
demand and success.
 Indiana’s opportunity scholarship program, known as the School Scholarship Tax Credit,
which was launched in 2011. This program has grown from 386 scholarships awarded in its
first year to 9,127 scholarships awarded in 2014–15, which is the latest release of data from
the Indiana Department of Education.
 Indiana’s school choice parents are overwhelmingly satisfied with their current private
school, with 81 percent being very satisfied and 12 percent being somewhat satisfied. The
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proportion of Indiana school choice parents stating they are “very satisfied” is higher than
any public or private school parent response from a national survey.
Arizona was one of the first states to make education choice a pillar of education reform
efforts with the adoption of two scholarship tax credit programs. Because of these longstanding efforts, Arizona led the nation in academic gains in 2015 on the Nation’s Report
Card on K-12 academic progress (first in progress for reading, third in nation for math).
Two of our border states – Iowa and South Dakota – have scholarship tax credit
programs. Wisconsin has a long-standing choice program for Milwaukee students.
Wisconsin’s choice programs have yielded better academic outcomes compared to similar
schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools. According to data released in 2016 by the
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the state’s three choice programs
outperformed their peers in traditional public schools. Students from the three choice
programs averaged ACT scores of 17.5-22.5 compared to 15.4-17.4 for students in similar
schools in Milwaukee public school system.
 Minnesota students would benefit from the creation of an opportunity scholarship
program for low-and-middle income families.
Key words/phrases (best phrases)
Education choice
Opportunity scholarships
Access
Access to better schools
Freedom
Flexibility
Other key words/phrases
Kids
Children
Independent
Thrive
Public good
Investment
Students
Parents as first teachers
Words/concepts to avoid
Vouchers
Privatization
Competition
Attacks on teachers
Equity
Equity
Social justice
Values
Attacks on public schools