The Future of School Choice

Teachers unions? Complacent parents? Bureaucracy? Dumb kids? Misinformation? The U.S. spends more on K-12 education than virtually any country in the world, yet our educational system yields mediocre results.

What is the biggest obstacle facing America's serious school reform?

On January 20, 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie and Lisa Snell led a discussion on the future of school choice at Reason's DC HQ. The participants included Virginia Walden Ford, a pioneer in the District of Columbia's school choice movement; Rebeca Huffman of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers; Patrick M. Byrne, the Ph.D. CEO of Overstock.com and chairman of The Foundation for Educational Choice; and Joe Trippi, the Democratic campaign strategist who brought the Internet to politics.

This event was held to kick off National School Choice Week, an initiative to raise awareness of how competition and choice can transform public education.

Don't forget to watch Reason.tv's latest videos on school choice, including interviews with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Green Dot Public Schools founder Steve Barr, and a host of education reformers who are radically transforming public education.

Approximately 60 minutes. Filmed by Jim Epstein, Meredith Bragg and Joshua Swain, and edited by Swain.

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Correction: Rebeca Huffman is VP of Outreach at the National Association of Charter School Authorizers