So, they have a choice of 3 or so schools? Still a far cry from, say, voucher schools.
Y'all might also be interested in school choice in Canada, hwhich I have some insight about. At least for Ontario and Québec.
One important thing to note, as it is totally relevant to this discussion: Canada doesn't constitutionally require separation of Church and State, unlike the USA. We have freedom of religion, but not an "establishment clause".
In Québec, in my early childhood, we didn't even have "public" schools, per se. You had the choice of Protestant or Catholic schools, both were government funded. Protestant schools were mostly English. I have never heard of a French protestant schools. However, only Anglophone parents could send their kids to English schools. In order to qualify as Anglophone, you needed to do most of your Elementary schooling in English. Anglophone parents could send their kids to French schools, if they want. (At the risk of not being able to send their own kids to English school, anymore.) So, essentially, Anglophone parents like mine had the choice of English Protestant, English Catholic or French Catholic public schools. I tried all three. I think I preferred English Catholic the best. Catholic schools included Catholic religious education, as part of the curriculum. But parents could "opt out" their kids and have them sent to "Moral" class instead. A minority of kids at St. Mark's did.
I guess French parents could really only send their kids to French Catholic schools. So, oddly enough, they had less school choice in Québec than English kids.
hWhen I was a lil older, Québec tried to get more secular and instead just separated school boards along linguistic lines: French and English. They still taught religion (by, generally, very liberal Catholics) but you could choose between Catholic, Protestant or Moral class. I went to French public secondary school and took Catholic religion class. Very few students at that school took protestant class. But there were a few! Later on, Québec changed its curriculum so that all students (regardless of their parents' religion) took an Ethics and Religious Culture class. This was after my time. But, as I understand it, it sounds like a mix of World Religions + Woke Ethics.
Québec also partially subsidized certain private schools. They had to conform in certain ways like following the standard provincial curriculum, but this allowed many "discount" private schools. Including many private Catholic schools. But, even these were generally Catholic In Name Only.
One private Catholic School, Loyola High School, tried to slightly modify the Ethics and Religious Culture curriculum, so that, although they would teach students about other religions, they would teach that Catholicism is the right religion and its doctrines were right. The Québec government didn't let them do so. Loyola sued. All the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. And won.
There are also private private schools, which don't take government money and don't have to teach the government's curriculum. But, obviously, they're more expensive.
In Ontario, there are 4 school boards: English Public, English Catholic, French Catholic and French Public. Theoretically, Catholic schools can insist on students being baptized Catholic and French schools can insist on students or their parents being Francophone. But, as I understand it, these schools are rarely overcrowded so they tend to be more flexible. Indeed, in Ontario Catholic Schools, there are many Muslim students. hWhy would Muslim parents send their kids to Catholic schools? Cause they're better. Higher ranked than the public schools. That's hwhy. I don't actually know how hard it is for an Anglophone, Atheist or Muslim parent to get their kids into, say, a French Catholic school. (I heard it's a little less flexible at the Elementary level. But I really don't know.) I'm also not sure if non-Catholic parents who send their kids to a Catholic school can opt them out of Catholic religion class, in Ontario. But, I don't think they can.
We also have magnet schools: i.e. Certain schools, especially Secondary Schools, have special programs, like special Arts programs. If your kid qualifies for one of these special programs through a somewhat competitive admissions process, they can go to one of these schools, even if it's not the closest. But I believe y'all have that in the US, too. So, it's not that different.
Anyway, that's about it. It's still a far cry from voucher schools. But you still get SOME choice.
Minor nitpick, currently the magnet schools (at least in the Toronto District School Board) cannot use competitive admissions. So right now its essentially a random lottery. Ostensibly because the kids that make it into these schools are rich/smart/talented, and therefore its unfair to the poor/disadvantaged kids that can't afford the extracurricular lessons to pass the admission test/auditions.
Really?? Even for advanced programs? OK I didn't know that. In Quebec, magnet schools and "magnet programs" at regular schools definitely use competitive admissions.
Its a huge disappointment. There's going to be an "efficacy review" of the policy this year but obviously these programs are going to be ineffective at their missions if they receive a random batch of ordinary students, which would be great cover to get them cancelled 😀. If equity is impossible at least everyone can have a mediocre education.
So, they have a choice of 3 or so schools? Still a far cry from, say, voucher schools.
Y'all might also be interested in school choice in Canada, hwhich I have some insight about. At least for Ontario and Québec.
One important thing to note, as it is totally relevant to this discussion: Canada doesn't constitutionally require separation of Church and State, unlike the USA. We have freedom of religion, but not an "establishment clause".
In Québec, in my early childhood, we didn't even have "public" schools, per se. You had the choice of Protestant or Catholic schools, both were government funded. Protestant schools were mostly English. I have never heard of a French protestant schools. However, only Anglophone parents could send their kids to English schools. In order to qualify as Anglophone, you needed to do most of your Elementary schooling in English. Anglophone parents could send their kids to French schools, if they want. (At the risk of not being able to send their own kids to English school, anymore.) So, essentially, Anglophone parents like mine had the choice of English Protestant, English Catholic or French Catholic public schools. I tried all three. I think I preferred English Catholic the best. Catholic schools included Catholic religious education, as part of the curriculum. But parents could "opt out" their kids and have them sent to "Moral" class instead. A minority of kids at St. Mark's did.
I guess French parents could really only send their kids to French Catholic schools. So, oddly enough, they had less school choice in Québec than English kids.
hWhen I was a lil older, Québec tried to get more secular and instead just separated school boards along linguistic lines: French and English. They still taught religion (by, generally, very liberal Catholics) but you could choose between Catholic, Protestant or Moral class. I went to French public secondary school and took Catholic religion class. Very few students at that school took protestant class. But there were a few! Later on, Québec changed its curriculum so that all students (regardless of their parents' religion) took an Ethics and Religious Culture class. This was after my time. But, as I understand it, it sounds like a mix of World Religions + Woke Ethics.
Québec also partially subsidized certain private schools. They had to conform in certain ways like following the standard provincial curriculum, but this allowed many "discount" private schools. Including many private Catholic schools. But, even these were generally Catholic In Name Only.
One private Catholic School, Loyola High School, tried to slightly modify the Ethics and Religious Culture curriculum, so that, although they would teach students about other religions, they would teach that Catholicism is the right religion and its doctrines were right. The Québec government didn't let them do so. Loyola sued. All the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. And won.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_High_School_v_Quebec_AG
There are also private private schools, which don't take government money and don't have to teach the government's curriculum. But, obviously, they're more expensive.
In Ontario, there are 4 school boards: English Public, English Catholic, French Catholic and French Public. Theoretically, Catholic schools can insist on students being baptized Catholic and French schools can insist on students or their parents being Francophone. But, as I understand it, these schools are rarely overcrowded so they tend to be more flexible. Indeed, in Ontario Catholic Schools, there are many Muslim students. hWhy would Muslim parents send their kids to Catholic schools? Cause they're better. Higher ranked than the public schools. That's hwhy. I don't actually know how hard it is for an Anglophone, Atheist or Muslim parent to get their kids into, say, a French Catholic school. (I heard it's a little less flexible at the Elementary level. But I really don't know.) I'm also not sure if non-Catholic parents who send their kids to a Catholic school can opt them out of Catholic religion class, in Ontario. But, I don't think they can.
We also have magnet schools: i.e. Certain schools, especially Secondary Schools, have special programs, like special Arts programs. If your kid qualifies for one of these special programs through a somewhat competitive admissions process, they can go to one of these schools, even if it's not the closest. But I believe y'all have that in the US, too. So, it's not that different.
Anyway, that's about it. It's still a far cry from voucher schools. But you still get SOME choice.
Minor nitpick, currently the magnet schools (at least in the Toronto District School Board) cannot use competitive admissions. So right now its essentially a random lottery. Ostensibly because the kids that make it into these schools are rich/smart/talented, and therefore its unfair to the poor/disadvantaged kids that can't afford the extracurricular lessons to pass the admission test/auditions.
Really?? Even for advanced programs? OK I didn't know that. In Quebec, magnet schools and "magnet programs" at regular schools definitely use competitive admissions.
Its a huge disappointment. There's going to be an "efficacy review" of the policy this year but obviously these programs are going to be ineffective at their missions if they receive a random batch of ordinary students, which would be great cover to get them cancelled 😀. If equity is impossible at least everyone can have a mediocre education.
Recent news article on the topic: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ontario-education-minister-has-serious-concern-with-tdsbs-controversial-specialty-program-admissions-policy-letter-shows/article_d71ff6f4-0e64-11ef-b3ad-e7bc13031bd3.html