Kent Grusendorf and Colin Butler of the Texas Public Policy Foundation investigate which parents are most likely to take advantage of school choice.

In order for the United States to continue to provide quality education for the public, the country must improve opportunities for parents to have meaningful choice in the education of their children. One way to do this is to have a better understanding of which parents are most likely to pursue education choice.

This report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation examines race, income, religion, parental involvement and the parent’s educational attainment from school choice programs around the country to make several observations about which parents utilize those programs.

Ultimately, the report concluded that the appeal of parental choice is strongest among minority parents with lower incomes who are dissatisfied with the academic quality of their child’s current school. Additionally, parents who enroll their children in education choice programs tend to have some college credit or hold a higher-education degree. Finally, parents who take advantage of education choice programs tend to be more involved and have higher expectations of their children.