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It outlines weaknesses emerging from rapid expansion, focusing on funding stability, administrative structure, expenditure approval, and family access. The paper identifies key components for successful programs—universal eligibility, universal funding, rollover of unused funds, competitive administration, and streamlined expenditure approval—and explains historical developments shaping today’s school choice landscape, offering guidance to avoid new monopolies.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/let-1000-flowers-bloom-best-practices-for-advancing-educational-freedom/583266/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/let-1000-flowers-bloom-best-practices-for-advancing-educational-freedom/583266.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jake","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What weaknesses has the rapid expansion of educational freedom programs revealed?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It has highlighted weaknesses in program design, especially funding stability, administrative structure, expenditure approval processes, and family access.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which key components does the paper recommend for successful educational freedom programs?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It recommends universal eligibility, universal funding, rollover of unused funds, competitive administration, and streamlined expenditure approval with risk-based auditing and multiple payment options.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the paper suggest states should approach program expansion over time?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"States should move beyond piecemeal design toward comprehensive frameworks so programs can sustain momentum and deliver on their promises without creating new monopolies.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},583266,1792209954,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":46,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":31,"preview_page_count":4},962084928904,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","|  |  |\n| --- | --- |\n| |  |\n| P O L I C Y |  |\n| A N A L Y S I S |  |\n| May 11 , 2 02 6 | NuMber 1 0 1 7 |\n\nLet 1,000 Flowers Bloom  \nBest Practices for Advancing Educational Freedom  \nColleen Hron C iCH  \nEXECUTIVE SUMMARY  \nT  \nhe growth of educational freedom in America has been dramatic, with more than 70 programs now operating in over 30 states. While this is welcome news for many families in need of  \nschool choice, the rapid expansion has also revealed weaknesses with program design, particularly in funding stability, administrative structure, expenditure approval processes, and family access.  \nThis paper identifies essential components for successful educational freedom programs, each of which will be explained in more detail:  \ny Universal eligibility. Any student can apply.  \ny Universal funding. Funding sufficient to cover all students who apply.  \ny Rollover. Unspent funds can be used for eligible expenses in future years.  \ny Competitive administration. Allow for multiple program managers rather than a monopoly.  \ny Streamlined expenditure approval. Offer multiple ways to pay and utilize risk-based auditing instead of prepurchase approval for most purchases.  \nThe paper also traces how we arrived at today’s choice landscape and highlights lessons for policymakers seeking to maximize opportunity while avoiding new monopolies.  \nTo sustain momentum, states must move beyond piecemeal design toward comprehensive frameworks. Only then can educational freedom deliver on its promises.  \nCOLLEEN HRONCICH is a policy analyst with Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nStarting in the mid-19th century, the states began essentially monopolizing education by mandating funding of and attendance at government-run public schools. Asthe Cato Institute’s School Choice Timeline shows, many scholars, religious leaders, parents, and government leaders advocated for taxpayer funding of diverse educational options long before public schools were created.1  \nIn his 1955 essay “The Role of Government in Education,”Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman,  \noften considered the father of the modern school choice movement, accepted that governments could justify education mandates and funding.2 But he saw no reason for governments to run schools. His solution was taxpayerfunded vouchers that could be spent on approved educational services.  \nIn 1990, the first modern school voucher program was launched in Milwaukee, enabling low-income families to use state tax dollars to pay private school tuition. In 1997, Arizona created the first tax-credit scholarship program, which included income restrictions. Rather than being directly funded with taxes, the program provides state tax credits to individuals or businesses who contribute to organizations that offer scholarships for private school tuition. These programs were dubbed “school choice”because they enabled parents to choose a school other than their child’s assigned public institution.  \nArizona’s introduction of education savings accounts (ESAs) in 2011 brought about true education choice. ESAsallow parents to use state tax dollars to pay for a variety of educational expenses beyond private school tuition. Here, Friedman was again ahead of his time. In a 2002 interview, when asked about his vision of schooling, he responded:  \nWhy is it sensible for a child to get all his or her schooling in one brick building? Why not add partial vouchers? Why not let them spend part of a voucher formath in one place and English or science somewhere else? Why should schooling have to bein one building? Why can’t a student take some lessons at home, especially now, with the availability of the internet?3  \nAlthough most states have enacted some degree of educational freedom, there is plenty of room to grow. Most  \nprograms remain limited to private school expenses and still restrict eligibility to specific segments of the population, such as children with special needs or low-inco","cbCaiobmAFOAvBcA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiobmAFOAvBcA","pdf",890595,"English","# Executive Summary\n# Introduction\n# Key Components of Educational Freedom\n## Box 1: Key components for educational freedom\n### Universal Eligibility\n### Universal Funding\n### Rollover\n### Competitive Administration\n### Streamlined Expenditure Approval","[{\"question\":\"What weaknesses has the rapid expansion of educational freedom programs revealed?\",\"answer\":\"It has highlighted weaknesses in program design, especially funding stability, administrative structure, expenditure approval processes, and family access.\"},{\"question\":\"Which key components does the paper recommend for successful educational freedom programs?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends universal eligibility, universal funding, rollover of unused funds, competitive administration, and streamlined expenditure approval with risk-based auditing and multiple payment options.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper suggest states should approach program expansion over time?\",\"answer\":\"States should move beyond piecemeal design toward comprehensive frameworks so programs can sustain momentum and deliver on their promises without creating new monopolies.\"}]","Let 1,000 Flowers Bloom - Best Practices for Advancing Educational Freedom | PDF",1792046526]