The Exciting Possibilities of School Choice We are in the midst of an unprecedented attack on public schools in the United States. What is causing this attack? Because schools are public institutions, they are by nature subject to scrutiny in a democratic society like ours. Everyone would agree that public schools must be willing to change to meet the changing needs of society as a whole. It seems that defamation has gotten out of hand in the last ten years. Only now is evidence emerging that much of the criticism leveled at public schools is exaggerated and misplaced. It's easy to forget that schools reflect what happens in society, not cause it. Today's schools have recently proven to perform better than ever before. Unfortunately, the traditional challenges schools face have increased dramatically and broadly as the world and students have changed. Now schools are facing a drastic change, a necessary change that must happen quickly for students to be able to cope with a dramatically changing future world. All criticism creates fear in teachers and administrators rather than a desire to embrace change. Now there is a great push towards choice. The choice seems innocent enough and very positive in a democratic society like ours. Choice is fundamental to our democratic roots: it produces competition, creativity and high-quality results. Shouldn't people be free to choose where their children go to school and with whom? Proponents of school choice systems argue that the public school system is a “failed monopoly” that would improve if it were subjected to market forces (Houston, 1993). They also argue that it will save public schools money, that it will increase the sense of community and pride of belonging in schools – public or private, and that it will bring about radical changes in education. Supporters say this will make the school system much more responsive to community needs, improve accountability, standards and curriculum. School choice also has its critics. A voucher system means that public money would be made available to parents for use in any educational setting, public or private. Almost anyone could open their own “school” and there would be little control. Most public schools are already underfunded, if resources were drained and allocated to private schools, this would result in discrimination for those who remain?