School Closures Demonstrate the Urgency of Educational Choice

Originally published by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nearly 5,000 Philadelphia students face a tough decision after the recent announcement of school closures in the district. As they begin searching for a new school, many will find the process overly fraught and needlessly complicated due to bad policies that have limited their choices.

Charter schools are one popular option. About 41 percent of Philadelphia’s public school students have chosen these kinds of schools—including both cyber and brick-and-mortar charters.

But transferring to a charter school isn’t a sure thing. In fact, charter schools host lotteries for interested students. For the 2025-26 school year, nearly 26,000 students applied, but only about 10,000 across the district were lucky enough to win a seat. The rest went on a waiting list.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer.