This policy brief focuses on Connecticut's Open Choice program, and discusses its objectives, history, administration, and funding.
Open Choice is a program in which Connecticut students can attend schools in local public school districts outside the community in which they reside. Connecticut’s statutes currently allow for districts in the Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and New London areas to send and receive students from participating districts in their respective region.
Overseen by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), the primary purpose of the Open Choice program is to reduce racial, ethnic, and economic isolation for students in Connecticut’s local public schools. Additionally, the Open Choice program’s objectives include improving academic achievement and providing a choice of educational programs.
Originally published in May 2018 and updated in January 2022, this policy briefing has been updated again to reflect statutory changes and new information and data.
Citation
School and State Finance Project. (2024). Connecticut's Open Choice Program. Southington, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://files.schoolstatefinance.org/hubfs/Reports/Connecticuts%20Open%20Choice%20
Program.pdf.