Interdistrict School Choice: The Public Votes with their Feet

Participation in NJ’s Interdistrict School Choice Program, by which local districts volunteer to accept students throughout the county, has almost doubled this year. Here's a notice from NJ School Boards Association:

Statewide, there are 3,357 students taking part in choice programs in 67 districts for 2012-2013, according to the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). With an additional 2,787 choice seats slated to open up in 2013-2014, the program will expand to offer 6,144 seats across 107 school districts, according to the NJDOE.

It’s a win-win: districts get to fill empty seats (with tuition and transportation paid by home districts), kids and families are liberated from the barriers of zip code education, and school choice in NJ, a hotly-contentious issue, inches forward.