- Suburban students are the most likely to benefit from choice in Texas, nearly 18 percent of students in the Texas suburban schools examined could potentially transfer to a higher-performing school within a 20-minute drive.
- City school districts in Texas often have high numbers of lower-performing schools within their district boundaries and few higher-performing options. But these districts also often have higher-performing suburban districts nearby, making interdistrict choice a potentially important outlet for allowing students to attend a higher-performing school.
- In both California and Florida, students enrolled in city schools actually have more choice than students enrolled in suburban schools.
- Across all three states, students in rural and town-based schools saw some of the biggest percentage increases in available choice with the addition of interdistrict choice.
- In Texas city and suburban schools, the percent of students who could potentially transfer to a higher-performing school is highest among White students, lower among African-American students, and lowest among Hispanic students, indicating that minority students in Texas have the least opportunity to take advantage of a public school choice program.
- There are key features that need to be a part of the policy design, including a way to inform parents of their choices, transportation to higher-performing schools, incentives to higher-performing schools to participate, academic supports for students who transfer schools, and targeting participation to those students who can benefit most from attending a higher-performing school.